


The Stress-Sex Connection

by Shotgun_sinner



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Bottom Hannibal Lecter, Face-Sitting, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is shook, M/M, Mid-Season 2, Murder Husbands, Oral Sex, Outdoor Sex, Porn with Feelings, Power Bottom Will Graham, Rimming, Sassy Will Graham, Tantra Sex, Therapy, Top Hannibal Lecter, Top Will Graham, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham is a Sex God
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:01:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28355106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shotgun_sinner/pseuds/Shotgun_sinner
Summary: When Will gets out of the BSHCI, he resumes therapy with Hannibal Lecter. His stress levels are through the roof, and Hannibal makes an offer that Will doesn't turn down.Hannibal assumes he's going to take Will to bed and make love to a fragile man, shy and delicate.Will enjoys taking Hannibal to bed, and proving him wrong.OR the story where Hannibal is shocked to find out that Will is a profiler in the streets, but a demon in the sheets.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 299
Kudos: 842





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have... no idea what this is. It's kind of crack treated seriously, and there will probably be five chapters total. It was going to be a one-shot, but then these two caught feelings and I have to write it out, now.
> 
> Enjoy!

The tension radiating off Will was palpable. His sat in the leather chair opposite Hannibal’s own, his back stiff and straight as though a steel rod ran though it. His jaw was clenched, tipped upward in a haughty little defiant angle that highlighted his jawline favorably. Hannibal’s eyes wandered the soft expanse of his throat, watching his delicious Adam’s apple bob with an angry swallow. Will didn’t like being… appreciated. Especially not since his jaunt in the BSHCI. 

“Is there something on my neck, Doctor?” Will asked, his voice as dark and foreboding as his body language. Hannibal watched his fist clench and unclench from where it sat on his strong thigh, as though his precious little beloved wished to harm him. 

Hannibal gave him a small smile, allowing his tongue to trail his bottom lip slowly. Will watched the movement as though savoring it, a tiny tilt of his head being the only physical reaction. His eyes, though. They darkened to sapphire, burning with something carnal and dangerous. It incited Hannibal to see it. “I was merely reading your body language,” he replied eventually, drawing those dark eyes back up towards his own. “Seeing as how you aren’t willing to speak.”

His delicate lips pursed, his eyes narrowing infinitesimally. “And what would you like me to say, exactly?” he asked, one eyebrow arching provokingly. “Would you like to hear about the drugs that Chilton pumped into my body in an effort to get me to confess to your crimes? Would you like to hear about how I’ve been alienated from everyone, aside from yourself? Tell me, Doctor Lecter. What words could I say to fill the silence between us that wouldn’t be trite?”

Hannibal’s little smile grew into one with teeth, while his eyes appraised his mate approvingly. Such fire in him. Such defiance. For once in his long life, Hannibal did not wish to extinguish the flame, but instead fan it into a glorious bonfire. He would burn to ash in all Will’s fury, cleansed in his purifying flames. “What are you doing to manage your stress, Will?” he asked softly. “The tension in your frame must cause you discomfort.”

“Sleeping on a cot that had rusted springs poking through it caused me discomfort,” he retorted dryly. “You weren’t concerned about my… stress levels then. I don’t see why you’d worry over it now.”

“Some measure of discomfort is expected while undergoing change,” he replied. “Stress, however, is damaging to the body. You must find ways to deal with it before irreversible damage is done.”

“I come to therapy, don’t I?” he wondered bitterly. “But I think in my case, it’s the cause instead of the cure.”

“You were the one that requested we resume our conversations,” Hannibal pointed out carefully. He crossed one leg over the other, delighting when Will watched him do so. “You told me you wanted to work through your feelings regarding me, if I recall correctly. However, over the last month, you’ve barely said a word aside from a few scathing remarks.” 

“Giving you shit for an hour is very therapeutic,” Will replied with a laugh, his pearly white teeth glinting in the low light of the room. “But I’m open to different suggestions, _doctor_.”

His enthralling, daring, _careless_ beloved. Hannibal preened for a moment with the admission that his surly behavior was intended to rile him, a little flush of pleasure settling warmly in his gut. “Intimacy can be a very natural means for finding relaxation.”

Will let out an endearing little snort at the idea. “Maybe,” he drawled, drawing the word out in excess. “Except you’ve alienated me from everyone, and anyone I meet now will recognize me as the guy that maybe killed five people. Only a masochist would take me to bed.”

Hannibal could not help the little possessive smirk that twisted his lips. “Yes,” he replied softly. “Perhaps a masochist would.”

Will’s eyes narrowed on him, his plush, pink, lips pursing while he sifted through Hannibal’s possible meaning. Hannibal knew the moment his meaning became clear, as his paramour breathed out a little puff of air. “Are you saying you’d be willing to _service me_ , Doctor Lecter?” he asked incredulously.

Hannibal could not stop the slow smile from splitting his lips. “I am offering assistance to you, yes. Not as a therapist, but… as something more.”

“How would Alana feel about that, I wonder?” Will asked, his face clouding with something that Hannibal assumed was jealousy. It was no secret that Will was… smitten with Alana. It was the entire reason that Hannibal decided to bed her in the first place.

That, and she proved to be an excellent alibi, on occasion.

“She and I are not exclusive,” Hannibal replied, shrugging his shoulders gently. “I do not ask who else finds their way into her bed, and she does not ask either.”

“No thanks,” Will said immediately, and even without Will’s gift, Hannibal could feel how unsettled he was. “I am not a fucking notch in your bedpost. I won’t be a side order of dick for you. However many others there are, I don’t even want to know.” His cheeks were flushed a vibrant pink, the blood rising in them enticingly. His scent grew stronger; a fine, heady, musk that reminded Hannibal of melted dark chocolate and clean pine. He was aroused, even though he so desperately did not want to be.

“There are no others,” Hannibal assured him. He kept his voice even and neutral as the source of Will’s jealousy became apparent. It was not Alana that Will wanted. It was not that Hannibal had Alana, but the reverse that made his beloved green with envy. Hannibal knew in that very moment that if he wanted Will, he would need to stop the other games he was playing. “If Alana is an impasse for you, I will stop seeing her.”

Will arched a disbelieving eyebrow at him, his pink tongue gliding behind his bottom teeth. “Just like that?”

Hannibal nodded while maintaining careful eye contact. “Just like that.”

Will shifted in the chair, his fingers gripping the arms tightly for a moment before letting go. “To be clear,” he said with a soft chuckle while swiping his fingers across his face. “You’re… offering to never sleep with Alana again because you want to be my… _stress relief_?”

Hannibal kept from grinning by biting his bottom lip tightly between his teeth. “I want to be so much more than that, but yes. We’ll start there.”

“I don’t share,” Will replied immediately. “So, no Alana, and no one else, either. If I find out that you’re fucking someone other than me, I’ll kill you.”

The flush of arousal through Hannibal burned like a furnace, and Hannibal felt a moment of pity for his beautiful, clueless, mate. There was no one else. He saw no one else, he cared for no one else. For someone with an empathy disorder, Will could be remarkably naïve on occasion. “I’ll expect the same courtesy,” Hannibal replied instead, choosing to cement Will’s fidelity to him in return.

Will rolled his eyes, laughing ruefully. “ _Sure_. We’ll pretend that’s an issue, and I’ll promise you that everyone who wants to fuck me from now on will be turned down.”

“Have you been with a man?” Hannibal wondered.

“Yes,” Will replied slowly, dragging the ‘s’ out. “It was a very long time ago. It’s been a very long time… period. Man or woman.”

“How long is a long while?” Hannibal asked. 

“Two years,” Will replied while blushing endearingly. “Since a woman, two years. Before that one time… it’s been at least another two.”

His beautiful paramour. His beloved. Hannibal’s heart raced in his chest at the thought of Will being so touch starved, so… uncompromised. He would take his time opening him up. He’d do it slowly with lips and tongue, spreading him with his fingers until he opened enough to take Hannibal’s cock. 

Hannibal planned to make love to him slowly, laving that long throat with his tongue while his fingers trailed fire against that lithe frame. He’d kiss each inch of his pale skin, licking and sucking until his muscled chest was a color palate of pink and purples. He’d be as gentle with his small lover as he could possibly manage, and Will would realize the depths of his emotions for him. He’d be overcome by the raw affection that Hannibal bestowed upon his supple body. 

While Hannibal’s mind raced with the possibilities unfolding before him, he was keenly aware of Will’s little flush of arousal. His touch-starved beloved would not have to wait much longer. “Perhaps you’ll join me tomorrow evening,” Hannibal said eventually. “Get someone to take care of your dogs. Stay with me for the night.”

“Depends,” Will sighed, tilting his head at Hannibal. His silky curls caught the light of the fireplace, turning the chocolate brown to fiery auburn. “You’re not going to do any weird shit, are you?”

“Define that, please,” Hannibal replied with amusement in his voice.

“No spanking or… choking. No tying me down and… I don’t know, torturing me. No weird shit. Consensual sex, no BDSM. I don’t want you cutting me or… being a fucking cannibal about it.”

Hannibal chuckled, glancing away briefly to regain his bearings. “You certainly think the worst of me. I don’t want any of that, Will. I promise you.”

Will snorted a laugh, shaking his head while glancing towards the fireplace. He crossed his arms defensively while his eyes sparkled with humor. “I am negotiating a fuck buddy agreement with a murderous cannibal,” he said softly. “Christ, who am I?”

“You are both of those things as well,” Hannibal pointed out, delighting in the outrage on his beloved’s face. “If you aren’t comfortable, there are prostitutes that would work just as efficiently.” He said it, but there was no way he would allow Will to… pay anyone for it. He would slaughter every streetwalker in Baltimore to prevent it if he had to.

Will was his and only his.

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Will replied, holding eye contact deliberately. Hannibal adored when he did it, as Will truly did not do it with anyone else. It was for him only, and every gift from Will was treasured, few and rare as they were.

“Wonderful,” Hannibal grinned.

____________________________________

Will was not sure how the fuck he managed it, but he had a dick appointment.

With _Hannibal_.

He was equally infuriated with himself and thrilled at the same time. The energy between them was palpable. Will didn’t need an empathy disorder to notice that the very air between them vibrated with something primal and promising. 

Until Hannibal suggested it, Will had never considered fucking him as an option. He wanted to strangle him. Choke the life from him. He wanted to make him suffer in beautiful agony for everything that he’s done. 

So he’s always thought that the energy between them was… murderous. A couple of sickos that got their rocks off inflicting misery on one another.

Will was not lying when he said it’s been forever since he’s had sex. It had been way too long, and not by Will’s choice. His brain was melting in his head for the better part of a year, and before that, he was too fucking shy to even make eye contact with most people.

Hannibal had changed him, and Will knew that in turn, he’s changed Hannibal. He knew the man had… _feelings_. He’s known it for a long while, which is why he suggested to Jack that he could be the lure. He knew exactly how Hannibal felt for him, and he used it to his advantage.

What he wasn’t sure about was why that specific thought made him feel guilty. Horribly, ridiculously, guilty.

He shoved the guilt aside, and decided he’d take the offer for what it was. Stress relief.

While the thought of having some good sex had its merits, there were undoubtedly consequences to it, too. He had no doubt that Hannibal would treat this as a _date_. Perhaps make him dinner before he took him to bed.

He knew Hannibal would like to open him up for hours, treating him like some fragile virgin. He was in no fucking mood for it.

He washed himself thoroughly that afternoon, taking care to groom himself meticulously. He dug through his closet until he found the little cardboard box under his piles of clothes, removing the plug that was now covered in dust from disuse. After washing it thoroughly and lubing it up a bit, he pressed it into his overly tight entrance, wincing a bit as it settled against his body. 

It felt outrageously uncomfortable, but as he did laundry and took care of his dogs, his body slowly acclimated to the intrusion. It was a wider plug that he owned, and he usually took care to open himself up a little with his fingers before inserting it. He didn’t do that this time.

Hannibal was in for a great shock tonight. Will would not be treated as though he were fragile and breakable. He was no damned teacup that would shatter with misuse. He did not relish the thought of Hannibal gliding into him gently as though he were fucking Alana.

His face flamed at the thought alone. 

He took a few condoms from his drawer, as well as a little tube of lube, putting both in his pocket before he left the house.

The drive to Baltimore was strange. He’d never driven anywhere with a plug in his ass. He’d never gone out in public with one in, in fact. He felt weirdly proud of himself for thinking of doing this instead of being fingered open like a virgin. 

Hannibal opened the door after Will rang the bell, dressed remarkably down in a red sweater and black slacks. He looked… more than good, and Will allowed his eyes to trail over him as he walked into the house.

“Will,” he said softly while closing the door. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”

“Oh, I plan to come,” Will replied with a little grin. He could smell good food, and he contained the laugh that wanted to bubble out of him. Hannibal had cooked for them, but Will hungered for something else.

The look on Hannibal’s face at Will’s comment was remarkably taken-aback. His eyes were wide, his soft mouth parted. Will took advantage of it, stepping into his space to grip his neck and tug him down for a kiss.

Hannibal went willingly enough, only the faintest hesitation in his shoulders. Will licked into his mouth, savoring the silken feel of his tongue as well as the faint flavor of a sweet wine that lingered there. Hannibal’s hands came cautiously to his waist, holding him close while kissing him softly and sweetly. 

Will fumed. He nipped at Hannibal’s lips, dragging him closer until their crotches lined up and ground together. He licked into Hannibal’s mouth, tracing his sharp teeth with his tongue before sucking on Hannibal’s own. The startled moan from the older man felt like a victory, and Will grinned against his lips.

Will was already hard, and by the feel of it, Hannibal was getting there. “Upstairs,” Will sighed, reaching down to palm at his cock that was generously filling under his hand. Hannibal was hung, by the feel of it. Will’s mouth watered at the revelation.

“I made dinner for us,” Hannibal replied distractedly while Will nipped down the column of his throat. He tweaked a nipple through the soft material of his sweater, causing Hannibal to flinch and moan in his throat.

“Hungry for something else, Doctor Lecter,” Will said breathlessly, stroking the generous erection through his slacks. “ _Starving_ , in fact.”

Hannibal’s hesitation grated on Will’s nerves, so he shucked his blue Henley in the foyer, delighting in the way it made Hannibal’s eyes widen and travel the length of his torso. “Dinner… I…” Hannibal stammered.

“I am going upstairs,” Will replied breathily. “I am starting with or without you. Your choice.”

Hannibal unsurprisingly decided to follow Will upstairs. 

Will glanced around his spacious bedroom, pursing his lips. It was a fuckpad. There was no doubt about it. He had mirrors strategically angled toward the enormous bed. The fireplace was lit, casting the room in a romantic glow, and also making it far too warm to be in here with clothes on.

Will took advantage of that, turning to Hannibal to shuck him out of his sweater. His body was something else. Corded shoulders, strong arms, a broad, masculine chest. He was well-defined, aside from the smallest little swell of tummy that Will had ever seen. His waist was so narrow it looked almost delicate. The strong muscle through-out proved that he was anything but. His skin was golden and healthy. He was beautiful, not that Will was about to compliment him. His ego was big enough already.

A stray thought occurred to him, wondering if Alana marveled over the sheer physicality of someone who supposedly sat around in an office all day.

He was almost certain she didn’t question it. Hannibal was fucking _gorgeous_.

Will touched his chest, weaving his fingers through the wiry chest hair there. His fingers dipped lower, rolling one of hannibal’s nipples to stiffness while he sucked a bruise against Hannibal’s collarbone. “Perhaps we should slow things down,” Hannibal sighed while lacing his fingers through Will’s curls.

 _Not a fucking chance_ , Will thought. He shoved Hannibal down to the massive bed, undoing his belt as well as the button on his slacks. As he dragged the zipper down, he made sure to grind his knuckles against his length as well, delighting in the wanton little shiver it provoked in the other man.

Once the buckles and zippers were undone, he tugged Hannibal’s pants down his legs, tearing his shoes off as he went. Hannibal’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously, and Will gave him a little smirk for it.

Hannibal was now sprawled out on the bed in nothing but his underwear, his thick, long, cock resting just under where the band should have been. They didn’t have a band, though, because they were silk. _Tiny_. Thin as tissue paper and straining with the effort of holding all that man in them. “What are you _wearing_?” Will asked in a high voice while reaching forward to cup the heat of his dick through the tiny scrap of material.

Hannibal blushed. Honest to God, pink as a virgin, _blushed_. “They prevent undergarment lines when one is wearing a suit.”

Will would describe them as booty shorts. The crimson material of them had a sheen to it, and where the head of Hannibal’s cock rested, there was a bloom of dampness that darkened the material. Will licked his lips while undoing his own pants to slide them down his legs. Once his pants and shoes were off, he spread Hannibal’s knees and eased between them. 

“They’re… _small_ ,” he marveled while leaning forward to wrap his lips around his cock through the material, blowing out a hot breath against him. Hannibal’s cock gave a desperate jerk against his mouth, and Will grinned. “You could tear right through them, couldn’t you?”

“Will,” Hannibal pleaded, his eyes wide and his damp, plush, mouth parted. “Come up here so we can… so I can take care of you.”

Will pressed his finger under the seam of the underwear, tugging them down gently. Hannibal’s cock sprang free as Will tugged the tiny underwear down his legs, groaning low in his throat. “I think I want to suck you off,” Will said lowly. “For a little bit. Do you want me to put a condom on you before I do?”

“No,” Hannibal said in a whimper. He looked… debauched already, and Will hadn’t even started touching him yet. “I trust you.”

Will laughed, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Hannibal’s hip. “That’s risky of you, but I was actually asking for myself. I know I’m clean, unless I can get something from sitting on a toilet seat. I’m asking because of you. Do you need a condom?”

Hannibal sat up, resting on his elbows while his eyes flared in warning. “Are you asking me if I have... _diseases_?”

“That’s what I’m asking,” Will agreed. He reached out and stroked Hannibal once, wrapping his fingers around him the best he could, and Hannibal shuddered.

“I am clean, Will,” Hannibal replied indignantly. “You will not get anything from me.”

“If I do,” Will promised darkly, “you _will_ lose this,” he emphasized his meaning by stroking him once more. “Do _not_ think I won’t take it from you.”

“Will, for _God’s_ sake, I am telling you that I’m-” Will did not wait for him to finish his thought, he wrapped his lips around the glistening head of his dick, and sucked.

Hannibal finally stopped squawking, and the low moan he bellowed out sounded a lot like relief. Will laved the head gently with his tongue, working his foreskin up and down. Will hasn’t ever been with anyone that had a foreskin, hasn’t been with very many people to begin with, and he was slightly fascinated by it. He pulled it over the head, giving a rough suck while maintaining eye contact to see if it was good. The little guttural moan was a sign that it wasn’t bad.

Will eased it back a bit, gliding his tongue under it to swirl it around, licking into his slit to collect the precum there. Hannibal’s hips bucked up like he was trying to shove Will off. That was a better reaction, really.

He eased the skin back completely, wrapping his lips around him and hollowing out his cheeks, sucking him down his throat. Everything that didn’t fit got worked with his fist, and Hannibal’s head fell back against the bed, his back arching deliciously. 

Will bobbed on his cock for a few minutes, savoring the flavor and feel of him against his tongue before releasing him with a pop. He did not want to work him up too much. He had plans, after all.

There was a jar of fancy lube on the end table, and Will contained the snort that wanted to escape his mouth when he noticed it. Will reached for it, unscrewing the lid before slicking up Hannibal’s cock liberally. “Scoot back,” he asked with an encouraging little slap to Hannibal’s hip.

Hannibal did as requested, sitting up a bit. “Let me take care of you, Will,” he said softly, reaching forward to cup Will’s jaw in his large hand. Will shivered at the contact, shaking his head. 

“All taken care of,” he replied while shucking off his boxers and climbing up onto the bed. Hannibal’s expression was mightily confused, and Will contained the triumphant grin that was fighting to split his lips.

____________________________________

Hannibal was not certain just what Will was going to do. He had not been properly prepped, and if it had been as long as he claimed it had, there was a very real possibility that Hannibal could tear him. He was well endowed and Will… was a _delicate_ little thing.

He watched as Will removed his blue boxers, exposing his long, beautifully pink, cock. He was cut, because Americans seemed to love mutilating their little boys in that way, but he was no less beautiful for it.

His skin was pale and flawless, aside from the trauma to his shoulder. Will was magnificently lean and sinewy, a lovely combination of pale skin and compact muscle. His biceps were deceptively stronger than his ill-fitting shirts made them look. His pale pink nipples stood out on his flawless chest because Will was almost entirely hairless. Beautiful as a marble statue brought to life.

He watched as Will straddled his thighs, reaching behind himself to touch his own entrance. Hannibal felt bereft until a wide, silicone device was removed and tossed aside. Hannibal’s throat constricted with the realization that Will had that thing inside him the entire time.

With no further ado, Will lifted himself up to his knees, adjusted Hannibal’s cock, and then sank himself down in one fluid motion.

Hannibal almost tore his own bottom lip off with his teeth to prevent himself from finishing on the spot. 

“Oh _hell_ ,” Will drawled, rocking himself gently on Hannibal’s cock to stretch himself a bit more. Even with the aid of the… plug, he was still unreasonably tight. His inner muscles fluttered around him, and he gripped Will’s thighs in shock. 

“Will, I wanted to… to-”

“I know what you wanted,” he replied breathlessly while rocking over him gently, easing into a rhythm. “This is about me. _My_ stress relief. So quit stressin’ me out.”

His southern accent twanged with the sassy remark, and Hannibal grinned. His beautiful little mate. So charming. “You may take all the time you need,” Hannibal assured him, resisting the urge to thrust up into Will’s tight body. 

“Well that’s good,” Will said with a breathless laugh. He leaned forward, lifting his hips to the head of Hannibal’s cock before dropping his full weight back down, punching a wrecked noise out of himself as well as Hannibal. “I plan to.”

With that, Will gripped Hannibal’s shoulders, and began to ride him. His pace was _alarmingly_ relentless, and he was skilled at it in a way that made Hannibal grit his teeth in both jealousy and raw bliss. Will’s lithe body bounced over him, his flushed cock leaking and glistening in the low fire light. His fingers tangled in Hannibal’s chest hair while a low, guttural little moan escaped his vibrant pink lips. 

He was riding Hannibal like he was a war horse and Will was heading into battle. Hannibal was shocked and overwhelmed by it, and he found he could do nothing but grip Will’s hips and hold on for dear life.

“Oh, _fuck_ ,” Will cried out, arching his spine and grinding himself down on Hannibal’s cock. His hips swiveled in a small circle, his face tipped upwards toward the ceiling while his soft mouth fell open in pleasure.

He wanted to kiss that mouth, but there was no way that was happening while Will took his pleasure in this way. It was all Hannibal could do to keep from coming.

His brutal pace resumed, the harsh sounds of damp skin slapping with each lift and drop of Will’s hips. “You feel _so_ fuckin’ good,” he drawled, his words stuttering with each slam of their flesh. “ _Hannibal_ ,” he moaned, and his name fell like a prayer to his ears. 

Will lifted himself up and off of Hannibal’s erection with no warning, turning around to take him back inside. Hannibal watched himself disappear inside Will’s reddened and abused entrance, enraptured. Will wasted no time in riding him again, this time giving Hannibal one hell of a show. “You like that?” Will wondered breathlessly while bouncing on his cock. Hannibal gripped the flesh of his ass, squeezing it firmly while spreading Will open. The lovely, pale expanse of his back rippled and flexed with each movement he made, and Hannibal found he wanted to taste each little freckle on his shoulder.

Hannibal could not reply verbally, the only affirmation being a low, desperate moan. His cock glistened as he watched it glide in and out of Will’s tight body, and his fingers drifted to where they were joined without conscious thought. 

“Fuck,” Will spat while Hannibal rubbed around his hole, pressing his fingers against them both. “Oh, God, _yes_.”

“ _Jūs esate tobulas_ , Will,” Hannibal said desperately, biting his lip while trying to think of anything other than Will fucking him the way that he was.

“What?” Will replied breathlessly, his hips slowing down a bit, but not enough to be considered slow or gentle. “In English.”

Hannibal could not make sense of the request, as he was not certain what language he used, or why he was having difficulty speaking. “Beloved,” he said instead, and it felt like it took every cell in his brain to utter those three syllables.

“Yeah,” Will laughed while grinding down again, arching his back in a wanton little curve. “Your beloved wants to see your face right now,” he said breathlessly while lifting himself off again. He turned around and straddled Hannibal’s waist, taking him back inside the heat and constriction of his lovely, sweat-damp, body. 

Will continued working his cock and riding him like a show pony while leaning over his chest to lick into his mouth. Hannibal gathered himself enough to return it, and he was surprised to realize that his mouth was bone dry, possibly from his mouth hanging open and moaning through the entirety of their… love making? He wasn’t sure it was appropriate to call this encounter love-making.

Will gripped his hair in his fingers, fucking his mouth with his tongue while his hips rode Hannibal into the mattress. He sat up abruptly, undulating his hips with his back arched. Hannibal gripped his cock in his hand as if just realizing he could, jerking him in time with his relentless pace.

The noise that he punched out of Will as a result was wounded. A sharp, keening sound that reeked of relief and desperation at the same time. “Oh, God, _faster_ ,” Will pleaded. 

Hannibal obliged him, fucking up into him while jerking his cock at a frantic pace, and then Will was coming. His inner muscles fluttered around Hannibal’s cock in shockingly tight little pulses and waves, each coinciding with each jerk of his cock. The scent of his spend set Hannibal off, and he came with a growl, pumping himself into the warm wet of Will’s body.

His orgasm _blinded_ him, strangled him. It felt as though he could not pull in a breath, nor open his eyes at all. It felt like it took control of him for hours, his cock heaving and jerking, pulsing pleasure and heat through him that made him feel like his veins carried lead through them instead of blood.

When it finally passed, he cracked his eyes open, struggling for breath. His heart was a racing staccato in his chest, and every inch of him was wet with sweat. Will sat above him, his cock still nestled inside while Will gave him a satisfied little smile, all soft lips and lowered eyelids. “Well, _that_ was a good idea,” Will drawled.

Hannibal’s mouth still felt dry. When he tried to speak, his tongue stuck uncomfortably to the roof of his mouth. He wanted to reach up and touch all that beautiful skin above him, but his arms were so heavy he could not lift them from the bed. Will had fucked the very life out of him, it seemed.

“You okay?” Will asked, reaching forward to touch his cheekbone. His eyes held a note of concern, but Hannibal’s gaze swept lower, where a drop of sweat escaped the nape of his hairline to travel the expanse of his collarbone. “Have I managed to fuck you stupid?” Will laughed.

Hannibal snarled at him, as it was all he could do at the moment. “You,” he began, swallowed with a click of his dry throat, then tried again. “You haven’t done this in a while?”

Will shook he head, climbing off his waist to settle out by his side. “Not in at least half a decade.”

“I want the man’s name,” Hannibal managed, glaring at Will with as much strength as he could muster, which was admittedly not all that much. His beloved huffed a breath of laughter, his smile wider than the space between them. 

“You’re not killing him, Hannibal,” he continued to laugh. “Jesus, I don’t even think he still lives in Virginia. He meant nothing then, he still means nothing now.”

Hannibal made a noise in his throat, a protest, as it was all he could still manage. “I wanted to take things slow,” he said eventually. “I wanted to bring you endless pleasure.”

“You did,” Will assured him while inching a bit closer. His fingers hesitantly wove into the hair on Hannibal’s chest, his face millimeters from Hannibal’s own. Hannibal tipped his face up for a kiss, and Will tilted his face away from it. “So, what is this exactly? Whenever I feel stressed, I can… make an appointment with you?”

Hannibal reached forward to stroke the lovely bone in his jaw, trailing his fingers down the soft expanse of his throat that he did not truly get to appreciate because of Will’s… vigor. “If you need me, merely come. My door is always open to you, and you will not be interrupting anything, Will. There is no one else.”

“Did you speak to Alana already?” he asked, and Hannibal noted the immediate set of his jaw following the question. Anger made him beautiful, but jealousy made him exquisite.

“Yes,” he replied, still stroking the skin of his throat and feeling the slowing pulse of Will’s heart in the artery. “She may have been more attached than I had initially thought, but we are now back to merely platonic terms.”

Will hummed in response, his dark eyes glittering at Hannibal while a slow blush rose in his cheeks. “Sorry this was so… _quick_. It’s been a while.”

Hannibal’s brain stuttered and stalled at that. _Quick_? This? He struggled to understand what that could possibly mean, as he hung on by the skin of his teeth for the entirety of it. Did that mean Will usually had… _more_ stamina than this? He could barely contain the shudder at the thought. “I found it very pleasurable,” he said instead of admitting that it was the best sex he’s had in his long, long, life.

“Well that’s good, at least,” Will grinned. He settled out on the other side of the bed, drawing in a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m going to stay, though. It feels… weirdly too personal. I know that makes no sense after what we just did but I… I think I should go.”

The desire to roll on top of him and crush him to the mattress was strong, but Hannibal nodded instead. “If that’s what you want. You’re more than welcome to stay. If not, you could eat something before you go. I did make us dinner.”

“What is it?” Will asked, going up onto an elbow so he could look down at Hannibal, a hopeful little arch to his eyebrow.

“Beef Bourguignon,” Hannibal replied. “It should still be good, albeit no longer hot.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that,” Will grinned. “I worked up an appetite. Is it okay if I use your shower first?”

Hannibal nodded, pointing his finger to the door. “There are fresh towels in the closet by the sink.”

Will leaned forward hesitantly, pressing his lips to Hannibal’s own almost shyly. “Thanks. I’ll meet you downstairs after.”

Once Will was ensconced in the bathroom, Hannibal sat up to gather himself. He was still so sated that his muscles felt liquid, his cock sticking uncomfortably against his thigh with his own spend. Will’s come was drying against his stomach, and the scent of it was still appealing, salt and an acid tang that Hannibal wished he would have thought to taste. Perhaps next time.

He gathered his clothes and headed to the downstairs bathroom where he gave himself a perfunctory cleaning with a damp cloth before getting dressed. This was _not_ what he wanted to happen tonight, and he was having difficulty coming to terms with this turn of events. For the first time… _dare he say it_ , he felt his age.

Will was just barely ten years younger than him, but his supple, youthful, body was full of vitality. Hannibal wondered if he had somehow grown complacent with the tepid sexual encounters that he’s had over the years. He would need to work on his stamina, and he’d need to focus more on pleasuring Will from this point on. 

In the moment though, it felt like he was on a white-knuckle ride where he was in imminent danger of flying off. His mate was a confounding thing, completely and _always_ at odds with how imagined him.

The next time, Hannibal would take the reins. He would show Will endless pleasure with lips and tongue, giving him his cock _only_ when he wanted to. 

As he headed towards the kitchen, he felt mildly more put together. _Next time_ , Hannibal thought with a grin. Will would be the one tongue-tied and lost in pleasure. He would make sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Hannibal’s dick was something else. Will had never _quite_ enjoyed bottoming like that before. It was like… no matter what he did, his cock was constantly and forever pressing against his prostate. It could have to do with the size of him. It could also be that the energy between them was always electric.

He didn’t frankly give a damn, because it was fucking hot as hell.

Hannibal had actually given him good advice in therapy. Intimacy has helped him. The week following the encounter, his limbs were looser, his stress-levels down. Even Jack couldn’t rile him while they worked crime scenes.

The Wednesday afternoon before his appointment with Hannibal, Jack had stormed into his office, demanding a rundown on the evidence he’d gathered so far. It had been three weeks since he was released from the BSHCI, and until last week, he’d barely seen Hannibal at all. Although the last time he saw Hannibal, he was mostly riding him into the mattress instead of gathering evidence. He’s certain Jack would burst a forehead vein if he told him that, though. “You’re not helpful at scenes,” Jack had taunted, pacing his office while his voice boomed through its flimsy walls. “You’re not gathering evidence on the Ripper,” he continued. “I have half a mind to remove you, Will.”

“Do it,” Will shrugged, settling back in his seat. “I don’t _care_ anymore, Jack. I used to give my all for this place, and it costed me my sanity. If you think me stepping away from it a bit to keep myself from ending up in the nut house is inconvenient, then find someone else.”

“What are you doing to capture Hannibal?” Jack asked loudly.

“I don’t know what you’d like me to do,” Will replied. His muscles were tensing, his back aching with holding his body so taut. “I spend time with him. He does not talk about anything, regardless of what I say to bring it up. His house is clean, no evidence anywhere that I can see. I don’t know what else you’d like me to do.”

“Not quite the fisherman that you bragged that you were, huh?” Jack replied bitterly. “Get your shit together, Will.”

His office door slammed on his way out, and Will gritted his teeth.

He left the office early to head to his appointment with Hannibal. He was so tense that his teeth ached from clenching his jaw so tightly. He had lied to Jack, and he had no idea why. Hannibal had a liver in his fridge when he opened it to get a beer for himself after they’d fucked. He noted it, bit his lip, and then continued living his life.

He had made little remarks about Will being a cannibal, which could be vaguely interpreted that Hannibal has fed him people. If he were to… stretch the truth, he could get a warrant for Hannibal’s house. 

His allegiances were being tugged in two opposite directions, and even that made his stomach roll. He owed Hannibal no loyalty, and yet... somehow could not betray him. Hannibal was his… other half. Two pieces of an enormously fucked up whole. He’d have to tell Hannibal, and the truth would very likely get him stabbed.

He’d have to take his chances.

By the time he got to Hannibal’s office, the tension rolling off him was practically suffocating. Hannibal welcomed him inside, and Will immediately pounced.

“God, I needed this,” Will sighed while gripping the horrible paisley tie Hannibal was wearing to tug him down for a biting kiss. “Needed this like _air_.”

Hannibal stumbled backwards with him, closing the office door distractedly while licking into Will’s mouth. Hannibal had been drinking an earthy red wine, and Will sucked the flavor of it from his tongue, trying to get to the dark and spicy taste of him underneath.

Will nipped down the expanse of his jawline, loosening his tie to tug it over Hannibal’s head. His fingers immediately began unbuttoning his blazer, then his waistcoat, and he growled at just how many fucking buttons there were between himself and Hannibal’s naked body.

“Will,” he sighed while lacing his fingers through Will’s curls. “Perhaps not in the office, please.”

“I am _not_ waiting,” Will replied while shucking the blazer and waist coat off of him in one movement. Hannibal looked pained as his expensive suit fell to the floor, but he made no verbal comment on it. “My stress levels are through the God damned roof. Do you have lube here?”

Hannibal nodded reluctantly, a little moue of distaste on his mouth. “You deserve more than a quick tumble in my office, Will. Please.”

“How about I fuck you, then?” Will asked lowly, shucking Hannibal’s belt from his hips with one aggressive tug. “Over your desk? On that chaise?” Will asked heatedly, his cock leaping in his jeans at the thought alone. “You tell me, Hannibal. Can I fuck you?”

Hannibal’s mouth fell open, catching flies again as it did the last time they fucked. The look was so priceless that Will wished he could take his phone out for a picture of it. Hannibal had gutted people alive, eaten their organs. Killed and maimed so many people, including people that Will cared about, that absolutely nothing should shock him. Will demanding a good fuck seemed to top it all.

“This is about what you want, and what you need,” he replied eventually while Will unbuttoned the vibrant red button down he was wearing. “I’ve never been penetrated, however.”

Will stalled out at that, glancing up at Hannibal in surprise. “Well,” he said while his dick throbbed heavily in his slacks. He untucked the soft material of his shirt, pulling it from his unbuttoned slacks to shed it from his shoulders. “If you agree to it, I’ll make it good. So good, Hannibal.”

“Over my desk, then,” Hannibal replied gruffly. “Or on the chaise. I don’t have a preference.”

Will arched an eyebrow at that while tugging Hannibal’s slacks and underwear off in one go. There was something especially hot about Hannibal being stark naked and hard as a rock in his office. Something even more lurid about Will still being fulling clothed while licking his lips at all the golden skin laid bare in front of him. 

Will stripped himself of his jacket and his Henley, unbuttoning his jeans while toeing off his shoes. Hannibal walked proudly to his desk, his thick cock hanging and swaying with each step, making Will’s mouth water. Hannibal procured another little glass jar of expensive ass grease, and Will laughed as he set it against his desk with a little click.

Will gripped his hips in front of his desk, slotting their erections together. The silky press of him dragged and licked flames up his abdomen. “You are gorgeous,” Will admitted reluctantly, glancing up towards his eyes quickly before trailing them down his chest. His hands wandered the firm flesh of his chest, while Hannibal’s own skittered along his jaw, then his neck. “You probably don’t need to hear that, I’m sure you know it.”

“It’s nice to hear it all the same,” Hannibal said thickly. “Especially from the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in all my years.”

Will blushed, rolling his eyes with a grin. “Right,” he replied disbelievingly. He leaned forward to press a kiss to Hannibal’s throat, trailing wet kisses down his sternum, then the soft swell of tummy that Will found absolutely endearing. For this hard, unyielding man to have any softness on him at all was unbelievable. For it to be in such a vulnerable place made it so God damned attractive that Will bit at it, nuzzling his cheek against it before settling out on his knees. 

Will leaned forward to lick at his heavy cock, gripping the base to bring the head of it to his lips. His flavor was something else, salty and tart, clean and sharp on Will’s tongue. He pressed his tongue to the slit to gather more of it, then wrapped his lips around him for a slow suck.

Hannibal fell back against his desk, his dark eyes watching Will with unrelenting interest, his soft mouth parted in reverence. His fingers trailed along Will’s cheekbone, then his jaw. Not urging Will in the least, just… praising him. Will rewarded him with a long suck, easing over him until the head of his dick breached the back of his throat, and Hannibal shivered under him, a long, soft, groan filling the cavernous space of his office.

He didn’t want this to be the main event. He merely wanted the taste of him, something like an appetizer before the main course. He pulled off of his dick, gripping Hannibal’s hips and urging him to turn around. 

Hannibal swallowed thickly before following instruction, turning himself so his elbows rested against his desk, his ass out on display for Will’s enjoyment.

Will pressed kisses to the small of his back, licking into each dimple before spreading his firm cheeks. He licked in without warning, sealing his lips over the unrealistically tight hole before pointing his tongue to press against it. Hannibal bucked against the feeling, and Will heard the clatter of his notebooks and pencils falling to the floor on the other side of his desk. He kept the pressure firm with his lips, darting his tongue just inside, then out. Licking around the rim to get him to loosen up a bit. 

“Will,” Hannibal gasped, arching against his face like a wanton thing. “Oh, _Christ_ ,” he bellowed out as Will eased him open with lips and tongue. His ass cheeks filled Will’s hands, plump and firm. He was a delicious thing, spread out and open for Will to devour.

His jaw practically unhinged at the thought, and he fucked into Hannibal’s body with his mouth wide open, kissing him and sucking at the most intimate part of him with abandon. The wet sounds of lips smacking and tongue squelching seemed over-loud, making Will’s dick pulse between his legs. He eased one hand between Hannibal’s legs, rubbing his thumb against his perineum while he continued his relentless assault on Hannibal’s entrance. He was opening slowly, Will’s tongue easing deeper with each lick and suck at the rim of it. 

Hannibal was a _mess_ under him. His thighs were quaking with each flick of Will’s tongue, and his mouth had not stopped making noises since he’d began. It was thrilling to bring such a self-disciplined man to ruin in this way. If Hannibal were capable of awareness while Will ate him out, he’d be mortified to be falling apart like this.

Will heard a string of words that were decidedly not English. Not French, either. Something that sounded rough and exotic, his native tongue perhaps. Will fucked into him with his tongue harder, pressing his two fingertips in to spread him open.

It was getting easier, as Hannibal was soaked with Will’s spit.

Will pulled away eventually, leaning over to the corner of the desk for the dark green, glass jar of lube. He swept his fingers through it, leaving the jar opened by his knees before easing a finger into the vice-like grip of Hannibal’s ass.

Hannibal’s inner muscles clamped around his finger like a mouth, pulsing and flexing around him as though trying to tug him inside. Will bit his ass cheek for how incredible his body was, how strung taut Will felt in response to it. “Has anyone ever eaten you out before me?” Will asked while tugging gently at his rim. 

A slew of words, not in English, spewed from Hannibal’s lips. Hs legs adjusted slightly, spreading wider while he rested more of his weight on the desktop. “No,” he gritted out. “Never.”

Will eased another finger into his loosened hole, but it was still a greedy thing, still pulsing and contracting around his fingers. Will leaned in to lick him around his fingers, drawing a shudder from the older man. “I can tell. You’re very… responsive. Eager. You’d take my entire body inside of you if you could, wouldn’t you?”

A guttural little whimper fell from Hannibal’s mouth at the thought, and he reached behind himself to grip his ass cheeks, spreading them wide. Will’s throat went dry, and he reached out to spread his palm over Hannibal’s own, gripping his ass as well as Hannibal’s hand. “Yes,” Hannibal replied eventually.

Will rewarded him by striking out against his prostate with his two fingers, and Hannibal arched off the desk as though the devil himself was trying to take over his body. “ _Fuck_!” he bellowed out.

Will pressed his fingers against that bundle of nerves, fluttering his fingertips against it alternatingly. “You think you can come from my cock alone?” Will asked lowly, drawing another long, needy, moan from his other half.

Hannibal did not seem capable of speaking while Will drummed his fingers against his prostate, so he nodded instead. “Good,” Will replied. He considered forcing a verbal acknowledgement but decided to take pity on him. Every beat of his fingers inside of him was causing his thighs and ass to twitch, making Will grin against his ass cheek. “I cannot wait to get inside of you.”

“Please,” Hannibal pleaded, his voice nearing hysterical. “Will, please.”

Will leaned forward while easing a third finger inside, stretching him to what he imagined must be the point of a mild burn. He’d need to acclimate to three fingers at least if he wanted to take Will’s cock. While Will usually relished the thought of hurting Hannibal in some way, making him bleed from a thorough fucking wasn’t one of them. Will did not plan to be gentle and sweet once he was inside.

__________________________________________________________

Hannibal was lost to the pleasure that Will Graham was giving him. He had no conscious control over his body whatsoever aside from where Will was touching him. Touching parts of him that no one had ever touched in all his life.

He had agreed to this reluctantly, never expecting the onslaught of unrelenting bliss it would bring him. Of course, he was aware that his prostate could bring him pleasure. He’d never embraced it before this, however.

His elbows kept slipping with sweat against the desktop, so he eventually just laid out against it, gripping his ass apart to encourage Will’s ministrations. He did not disappoint.

Even while spreading him open, Will continued to lick and suck at him. Surprising little kitten licks against his rim that felt like they incited fire in Hannibal’s belly. Never in all his life had he been gifted with pleasure this way, and Will seemed content to do this to him for hours.

Hannibal prayed for the first time in his life, silently hoping that he would not. He didn’t think he’d survive it.

When Will felt he was opened enough, he felt him come to his feet behind him. The slickened head of his cock teased at his entrance, slipping around it, pressing gently against it, sliding past it entirely. Hannibal whimpered, pressing his hips backwards in a clear plea for mercy. “ _God_ , look at you,” Will sighed, slipping his thumb into his ass while teasing him with his cock. “I’m not even fucking you yet, and I already know this is going to be incredible.”

“ _Will_ ,” he gasped, pressing his over-heated cheek to the cool surface of his desk. “Please.”

With his broken plea, Will eased himself inside of him. His muscles gave and welcomed him, and he clenched around him, demanding more. A high, desperate sob escaped Will’s mouth, and his hands gripped Hannibal’s hips roughly. “Fuck, so goddam tight. Christ, Hannibal.”

Hannibal had expected discomfort, but Will had taken precious time opening him up with his fingers and mouth, so there was hardly any pain at all aside from the mildest burn where Will stretched him with his girth. It felt remarkably good to be filled by Will this way, as though his beloved was searing him with a brand. One that marked him as Will’s possession.

He felt borderline too full, and Will was not done easing inside of him, yet. Will’s fingers gripped his hips as he continued sliding in, fingertips almost bruising against his hipbones. When Will’s hips slotted against his ass, his thighs pressed against the back of Hannibal’s own, he took a breath. It felt like Will was inside of his stomach, he was so full of him.

Hannibal took another breath, relaxing himself while he adjusted to the intrusion, and Will pressed soothing kisses to his spine, licking the sweat from his back. “Why would you let me be your first?” Will asked softly, pressing himself minutely deeper.

Hannibal grunted, adjusting his stance a bit to better receive him. “You are already inside of me, Will. You reside in every room of my mind palace. You pulse through my veins with every beat of my heart. My every breath is for you, my every thought. I cannot even lift a charcoal anymore without finding myself sketching your shape,” he replied, contracting his muscles around Will, earning a throaty little groan from him in response. “I didn’t _let_ you do anything, beloved. You’ve always been inside of me.”

Will thrust his hips gently, nudging that spot inside of him with the blunt head of his cock. Hannibal gripped the desk, arching up into the raw pleasure of it. “Then _why_?” Will asked lowly, his voice barely a whimpered breath as he glided himself inside of Hannibal’s body. “Why did you…?” he doesn’t finish his thought, choosing instead to snap his hips, their flesh meeting with a thunderous little clap. The spike of pleasure turned Hannibal’s limbs to liquid. 

“I wanted you to _become_ ,” Hannibal replied, knowing Will’s unfinished question. “I _resented_ you for consuming me this way. I’ve… I’ve missed you, Will.”

The languid pace that Will had been keeping picked up, and Hannibal moaned. Will was draped over him like a warm blanket while he drilled himself inside, the desk sliding across the carpet with each snap of his hips. Will reached a hand down, gripping one of Hannibal’s thighs to bring it up onto the desktop. The harsh smack of their skin was lurid in the echoing office, and Will’s little grunts and moans were like music to Hannibal’s ears.

One of Will’s hands left his hip, trailing up the expanse of his back to grip his shoulder, tugging him backwards with each deep thrust of his hips. It felt like there was no space inside of Hannibal that Will was not reaching, the friction setting a fire inside of him. No matter what Will did, his cock brushed against his prostate or nailed it directly, and Hannibal felt like the walls around him were collapsing. He felt raw and exposed in his pleasure, mindless with the sheer bliss that Will was carving out of him.

In simpler terms, he could understand why people enjoyed this.

Although he wasn’t certain it was always this mind-numbingly good.

Will gripped his shoulder and lifted his torso from the desk, slotting Hannibal’s back to Will’s chest while he fucked into him with abandon. “We shoulda been doin’ this from the beginning,” Will drawled breathlessly, his lips ghosting against the shell of Hannibal’s ear each time Will’s hips met his ass. “Oh, _God_ , you feel so good.”

“Will,” Hannibal moaned, turning his face so they could share a wet kiss that was open-mouthed and mostly tongue. Hannibal bit at his jawline absently, drawing a hiss from Will that resulted in Hannibal getting fucked harder against the desk. Hannibal’s grip slipped, and he braced himself against the desktop fully to avoid collapsing to the floor.

The bite had incited Will, and Hannibal braced up for the punishing rhythm that came as a result. “Always. Fucking. _Biting_ ,” Will seethed, each word enunciated with a harsh slam of his hips. “If you bruised me, I’ll be livid,” he continued lowly.

Hannibal wanted to tell him that he belonged to him, he could mark him as he saw fit, but he could not form coherent speech. Each drive of Will’s hips blackened his vision, caused pleasure so divine that Hannibal felt that this was how he would choose to die, if he had a say in it.

His thighs were shaking from exertion as well as mind-numbing pleasure, his balls were drawn tightly to his body. He knew he was moments away from coming, but he wanted to take Will over the edge with him.

He clamped himself around Will like a vice, his inner muscles locking down around his girth in a strangle hold. “Aw, _hell_!” Will yelled out, dipping his forehead to rest against Hannibal’s spine. “Fuck!”

His prostate was pulverized as Will fucked him ruthlessly, and Hannibal was thrown over the edge. His orgasm crashed over him to the point where he lost all conscious thought, his cock heaving and jerking against the side of his desk. Will did not let him come down from it, as he continued fucking into him and brushing at the spot inside until his vision swam.

His cock continued leaking against his desk with each brush of his prostate, and then Will followed him into oblivion. 

He felt Will’s cock jerking inside of him, the heat of his release spilling deep within his body. Hannibal could not move. Could not even turn his head. He gasped against the desk, licking his dry lips and trying to regain some sense of himself.

Will chuckled against his back, pressing kisses to his shoulder blade. “I thought you were gonna take my dick off,” he drawled with a tired laugh. “Clamped around me so fucking tight. God, this was good.”

Hannibal grunted in agreement, sated and sore. Will was still buried inside of him to the hilt, his come leaking down Hannibal’s thighs.

“You look good like this,” Will sighed while sitting up enough to glance down between them. “Full of me. _Wrecked_ by me. I want to see you like this for the rest of my life.”

He nudged his softening cock further inside of Hannibal with a little shift of his hips, and Hannibal whimpered. He could not go again. Could _not_. If Will wanted that, Hannibal was certain he would not survive it.

Thankfully, Will withdrew from him only moments after, but he was far from done. Hannibal leaned away from his desk, drawing himself up onto his elbows, and Will gripped his hips while he went down onto his knees behind him. “Let me clean you up,” he drawled. Hannibal wanted to protest it, but Will licked into his loosened entrance before he could speak.

Hannibal gripped the edge of the desk while Will licked into his body, making him shiver and whimper with over-stimulation. It had never occurred to Hannibal that Will would be like this with sex, but it should have. Every time he thought he could guess at Will’s reactions he had been continuously proven wrong. 

He was an enigma. A rarity so divine Hannibal believed him to be a miracle in his own right. His soft tongue cleaned him with reverence, licking into him with wet little smacks of his lips. Hannibal shivered, swallowing dryly. “Will, please,” he sighed. “It’s… too much.”

Will hummed against his rim, the vibration of it going through Hannibal’s gut. “Yeah,” he said as he pulled away, trailing kisses across his ass, then the small of his back. “It sure is.”

Hannibal pulled away, turning around to rest his sore backside against the desk while Will came back to his feet. His eyes caught on Hannibal’s wrist, his mouth falling open. “This was me?” he asked, stepping into Hannibal’s space, their bodies brushing with their proximity. His hand wrapped around Hannibal’s wrist, lifting it for closer inspection. Soft fingers trailed along the raw scarring there, and Hannibal noticed Will’s thick swallow. 

“By proxy, yes,” Hannibal relented. Will lifted his arm to his mouth, pressing soft kisses to the line of the scar with gentle lips. When he had gifted the entirety of it with his affection, he lifted his left arm and repeated the gesture. “Are you pleased with the result?”

Will shook his head minutely, touching the scar softly with his fingertips. “No,” he replied. “I… regret this. I’m… sorry, Hannibal.”

Hannibal felt a pang of something painful in his chest, and he reached out to lace his fingers through Will’s wild curls. “I forgive you,” he said softly, causing Will to flinch at the declaration. “Can you forgive me for what I’ve done?”

“I don’t know that I can forgive you for Abigail,” Will said honestly, glancing up at his face quickly before turning those eyes back to the scar on his wrist. “I don’t blame you for Bev. I should never have told her to look into you. She… she’s my fault.”

Hannibal considered telling him that Abigail lived, but he decided against it. It was still too early to trust his loyalty, regardless of their intimacy. “I considered retaliating,” Hannibal confessed instead. “Sending someone to your house to kill you.”

“ _Did_ you,” Will deadpanned. “Why didn’t you?”

“I would be devastated if they succeeded,” he admitted, easing the silky curls through his fingers. “I’ve already mourned your company enough in this lifetime. Aside from that, I can understand your anger with me. What I did to you… was unconscionable.”

“No shit,” Will replied, but there was no heat in his sass. His eyes drifted back up to Hannibal’s own, and the fire in their icy depths stunned Hannibal to silence. “I won’t do anything like that again. Hannibal… I…” he sighed, glancing away briefly before looking up at him again. “I mourned your company, too.”

“Then we are in agreement,” Hannibal said assumingly. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Will’s pink lips, tasting Will’s spend as well as his own musk there. “I promise to never hurt you, Will. Not in any capacity, if I can avoid it.”

“Says the guy who just bit my face,” Will laughed, rubbing the bruise on his jawline that was already a perfect imprint of Hannibal’s teeth. “Like a rabid animal.”

“It’s already bruising,” Hannibal grinned, running his thumb against the marks. “How livid are you, exactly?”

“Livid enough to make you dinner tomorrow night,” Will replied with a bright smile. “How does a subpar dinner of baked trout sound?”

“Wonderful,” Hannibal grinned, leaning forward again to kiss the teeth marks on his jawline. “Perfectly wonderful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we're getting into some Tantra sex! MAN do I like writing smut for these two. =]


	3. Chapter 3

Will left his office shortly after, driving home to his dogs while chewing his thumbnail. Why had he invited Hannibal to dinner? That… that was _not_ stress relief. It was the exact opposite of stress relief, in fact.

Seeing the large scars on Hannibal’s wrists had upset him. He hadn’t realized just how close he came to actually killing him, and the thought… well, it scared him. If he had succeeded, Hannibal would be dead.

Will’s only damned friend in the world, gone forever.

Sure, Hannibal was a dick. He was a serial killing cannibal. He was manipulative and vain. He was everything that Will should have felt privileged to remove from the world. It didn’t hold the appeal it once did, and he wondered at that, too. Did sex make it more difficult to hate him, or was it difficult for Will to hate him even before they had sex?

The answer was probably yes.

He didn’t hate Hannibal. Their connection was unlike any he’d ever had with anyone. All fucking him did was emphasize that point. It was brutal and raw, honest and _so_ God damned hot. Will felt a twinge from his dick in his pants, and he rolled his eyes while gnawing on his thumb.

After work the next day, he came home and cleaned his house as quickly as he could while getting some fish in the oven. There was dog fur everywhere regardless of how much he vacuumed, but Hannibal must be used to that by now.

Hannibal arrived just before seven, and Will greeted him at the door with a wide smile. “Hey,” he said, welcoming Hannibal into his house. All the dogs milled around him, sniffing his expensive slacks, and to Will’s surprise, Hannibal pet them absently. 

“Will,” Hannibal said by way of greeting. Will’s name seemed to encompass everything Hannibal was feeling in any given moment. “I so rarely get invited to anyone’s home for dinner,” he grinned, removing his peacoat and setting it on the hook by the door. Will noted that he was wearing another sweater, this one gray and fitted, and he licked his lips. “Thank you.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Will replied while heading back to the kitchen. “It’s just trout with salt, pepper, and lemon. Nothing fancy.”

Hannibal’s face pinched briefly, but he forced a smile for Will all the same. “It will be perfect, I’m sure.”

“Make yourself at home,” Will told him, heading back to the counter where he was prepping some Brussel sprouts. “I don’t have any wine, but… I have whiskey and beer if you’re interested.”

Hannibal followed him into the kitchen, glancing around the small space with an arched eyebrow. “I’ll help myself to a beer, if that’s alright.”

“Have at it,” Will replied while tossing the sprouts in olive oil. “Dinner will be another half hour, give or take.”

“May I offer you my assistance?” Hannibal wondered. He stood to Will’s side, his chest brushing the back of Will’s arm. His breath ghosted across Will’s face, and Will forced himself not to lean into it. 

“I’ve got it, thanks,” he said distractedly, glancing up at Hannibal briefly to note the color of his eyes. “I’ll meet you in the living room in a minute.”

Hannibal gave him a curt nod, opened his beer, and headed into the living room.

Will closed his eyes for a second, scolding himself about what a bad idea this was. This… this was a date. A fucking _dinner_ date. With the Chesapeake Ripper. A man who had killed their pseudo-daughter, Bev, and countless others. And here Will was, making him goddam dinner. 

Will got the sprouts in the oven too, then grabbed a glass of whiskey before joining Hannibal in the living room. 

Hannibal was sitting on one of the thrift store chairs Will had picked up, looking relaxed and comfortable. Winston was sitting to his side, staring at him warily while the other dogs eagerly took turns accepting pets from the man. “They know you,” Will said with an arched eyebrow. He settled into the chair opposite Hannibal, crossing his legs. “Did you pet them when you’d break into my house to plant evidence?”

“I did care for them when you were away on cases, too,” Hannibal replied defensively, taking a delicate sip of his beer. “I’d bring them sausages to earn their affections. I feel badly that I did not think to do so today.”

“The less people they eat, the better I feel,” Will retorted. “Daisy seems to like you,” he noted.

“She’s a lovely girl,” Hannibal grinned, petting the small terrier and scratching behind her ears. “They are all good dogs.”

Will hummed, clenching his jaw tightly while staring at Hannibal. He was an enigma. He could kill and maim people, and then come to Will’s house and coo at his dogs. He made no sense at all. “Do you actually like animals?”

Hannibal pursed his lips, tilting his head at Will disapprovingly. “I love animals, Will. I have no desire to hurt them, as they are never unkind.”

Will snorted, sipping his drink. “They’re never _rude_ , you mean.”

Hannibal let out a long sigh, easing himself into the chair. “That’s what I mean, yes.”

“Was Bev rude to you?” Will asked harshly, and Hannibal’s shoulders stiffened.

“While she was a lovely woman, breaking into my home without a warrant was extremely rude, Will. Digging through my things, pocketing supposed evidence… would you consider that polite?” he wondered with a tilt of his head. 

Will sighed, easing himself into his own chair to get more comfortable. “No,” he said honestly. “It… it’s not polite. I should never have…” he trailed off, glancing away from the man in front of him pointedly. “Did you… did you eat something from her?”

“You know the answer to that,” Hannibal replied. “Don’t ask questions in which you will not like the answer.”

The silence settled between them, each a little bit on edge. “Was Abigail rude?” Will asked eventually, his voice smaller than he wanted it to be.

Hannibal stared at him for a few moments, considering something. Will wondered briefly if he was going to tell him how he killed her. What he ate from her. He wasn’t sure he could hear it, and he wasn’t sure how he would react if Hannibal confessed such things to him. “Abigail…” Hannibal began, but hesitated.

“Forget I asked,” Will retorted, waving his hand in surrender. “Just… forget it.”

“Will,” Hannibal sighed, scratching absently at his jawline while he leaned forward in his seat. “Is she the reason that you keep your distance from me? Or is it something else entirely?”

“A combination of both, I think,” Will replied honestly. “I don’t understand how you could hurt her when she was _ours_. Someone that belonged to both of us. She was… our daughter, Hannibal. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never felt that kind of responsibility towards another human being.”

“I have,” Hannibal said softly, his voice low and laced with loss and remorse. 

“You had a kid?” Will asked, leaning forward in his seat. Their faces were very close this way, and Will fought the desire to comfort him.

“I had my sister,” Hannibal said, glancing down at his beer bottle to hide the sheen on his eyes. “Mischa. She was younger than I, and I considered her my charge, for a time. I loved her so dearly, and… when she was killed, a part of me died along with her.”

Will was not prepared for him to share anything so intimate, and he swallowed thickly while reaching forward to touch Hannibal’s cheek. Hannibal seemed alarmed by the gesture, his face hardening minutely. “How long ago was that?”

“I was only a boy,” Hannibal said softly, his eyes holding Will’s own. “Eight, at the time.”

Will didn’t know what to say to that. He could pick up just how sensitive of a topic this was for Hannibal, and he decided not to ask anything more of what he’d confessed. As much as he felt… badly for him, it didn’t excuse the things he’d done. Especially the things he’d done to Will. “I feel betrayed by you,” Will said lowly, his own eyes brimming with tears that he held back. “I trusted you, Hannibal. You were the only person that has ever gotten as close to me as you did. I relied on you, and you… betrayed me. We could have been something. We could have… been a family with Abigail. Did she mean anything to you at all?”

“She means a great deal to me,” Hannibal replied honestly, reaching up to cup Will’s hand against his cheek. “I’ve haven’t felt this kind of responsibility to another person since Mischa. She is a part of us, and I will protect her at all costs, Will.”

Will swallowed roughly, leaning away from him while a stray tear escaped his eye. “You… you _killed_ her. What the hell do you mean that you’ll protect her?”

“Abigail…” he sighed, glancing away briefly. “She is alive, Will. She will be attending Bocconi University in Italy this upcoming spring. Her name is Isabelle, now.”

Will set his drink down on the end table with a smack, rubbing his fingers across his face. “She’s _alive_?”

“I gave her a new start in life,” Hannibal said slowly, reaching forward to snatch Will’s hands and lace their fingers together. “Her past will not haunt her. Her life will not be ruined by her history. She’ll want for nothing as long as we live.”

The sharp sob that escaped Will’s throat was startling, and Will covered his face with his hands, leaning forward to hide his tears. “You could’ve told me.”

“I wanted to know where your loyalties were, first,” Hannibal sighed. 

Will swiped at the few tears on his face while the timer went off in the kitchen, and he took a deep breath. “I’ve got to check on dinner,” he said reluctantly, and Hannibal nodded.

________________________________________

It was not lost on Hannibal that Will didn’t assure him of his loyalty. It stung, and he ached to ask him again. He would not, though. It was always better not to ask questions when one will not like the answer to them.

Dinner was… better than Hannibal anticipated, given the simplicity of the dish. Will seemed happier after Hannibal’s confession, and the warmth of his smile and the ease of their conversation over dinner felt like a small victory. He had a few questions about Abigail and her well-being, and Hannibal’s responses to them seemed to placate him enough that he eventually let the topic go.

“Has our arrangement been helping you, Will?” he asked as they finished eating.

Will laughed, setting his fork down with a wide smile. “Yeah,” he nodded, glancing carefully at the table to avoid eye contact. He truly was a lovely thing. “It has, actually.”

“You’ve certainly taken charge with it,” Hannibal noted, sipping his now warm beer. “However I’d like to make a few suggestions, if you’re interested in considering them.”

Will shrugged, his ocean eyes lifting to meet Hannibal’s own. “I’ll take suggestions, sure.”

“There are positions that specifically aid in stress relief,” he explained slowly. “One in particular, Yab Yum, is a Tantra-derived position that when done correctly can significantly lower stress levels.”

The blush that spread across Will’s cheeks was lovely. “ _Tantra_ positions, huh? Do I have to twist like a pretzel or is it reasonable?”

Hannibal laughed, “Very reasonable. It focuses on breathing, primarily. We can try it, if you’d like.”

“Yum yum position it is,” Will smiled. It was a wide smile, all open trust and warmth. Hannibal basked in it like heat from the sun. 

“Yab yum,” Hannibal corrected with another laugh.

“Help me clean up,” Will laughed. “Then you can yab my yum all you want.”

Once the dishes were done, Hannibal pressed him back against the counters, lacing his fingers through his wild curls to tilt his face up for a kiss. Will relented easily, slanting his soft mouth against him delicately while their tongues met and slid gently. It was the least urgent kiss they had shared, and Hannibal savored it like a glass of fine wine. He sipped at his mouth, licking into the sweet cavern of it while holding him close by the nape of his neck. Will let out a soft breath, tilting his face to deepen the kiss while his fingers eased into the hair at the nape of Hannibal’s neck. 

Will pulled away, his face and lips a beautiful shade of pink, his eyes dark as sapphires. “Well,” he grinned, leaning his forehead against Hannibal’s own. Hannibal breathed him in, the heady scent of his arousal combined with the mint of his shampoo. “I guess you _can_ kiss without biting.”

“I can,” Hannibal replied, leaning forward to capture those lips again. Will’s hands slid from his neck to his waist, holding him gently. This time, Hannibal pulled away, trailing his lips down the long column of his throat. “This is what I wanted for us, Will,” he said between kisses.

Will sighed, tipping his jaw upwards to make more room for him. “I’m giving you the reins this time, Hannibal.”

“Good,” Hannibal sighed. 

“We can go to the upstairs bedroom,” Will offered. “I don’t like… doing it in front of my dogs. It’s fucking weird, I know.”

“It’s fine,” Hannibal assured him, although his smile was unavoidable with such an admission. Will noticed it, of course. He noticed everything. The little frown on his face was absolutely endearing. 

Hannibal followed him upstairs, to the bedroom that smelled a bit musty from disuse. Will clicked on a lamp, casting the room in a cozy glow while they regarded one another almost warily. “This feels different than last night,” Will said softly, squaring his shoulders. “Why does it feel different?”

“Both of our previous encounters were not in your home,” Hannibal replied. “I’ve told you something that relieved a rift between us. Perhaps you feel more open to what I’m offering you, Will?”

“Perhaps,” Will relented carefully, tugging his soft bottom lip between his teeth. “I also didn’t… uh, prep myself. Which means you’ll probably do it. I generally don’t like being… vulnerable like that.”

“If the thought of me doing so makes you uncomfortable, then I will allow you to do it yourself,” Hannibal said, doing his best to keep the disappointment from his voice. “I can wait until you’re ready.”

“No,” Will sighed, shifting his feet. “You… uh, you can do it,” he blurted while blushing beautifully. Hannibal stepped into his space slowly, giving Will time to reject his advances or accept them. He smiled when Will leaned into him, accepting him fully. 

“A lovely gift, beloved,” he said softly. Hannibal kissed him, and Will tilted his face to deepen it while wrapping his arms around Hannibal’s waist. He felt so delicate in Hannibal’s arms, but he knew better than to believe that, now. His little hellion was giving him a very rare gift with his docility, and Hannibal was going to savor it as leisurely as he could.

He undressed Will slowly, kissing each inch of skin as it was laid bare. His body was a beautiful thing, supple and well-defined. His skin was like silk where it stretched over the bones underneath. Once his shirt was off, Hannibal removed his own sweater, kissing down the line of Will’s sternum. He laved his navel with his tongue, kissing the soft skin above his belt. Will’s eyes watched him, wide and dark, as Hannibal settled onto his knees. “You are a beauty,” he said reverently while undoing his belt, then the buckle of his jeans. 

Will touched his bare shoulder, a small furrow between his eyebrows. “You… you are, too,” he said softly, and Hannibal hid his smile against Will’s hipbone. “Don’t look so pleased,” Will chastised him sternly. “You know you are.”

“You make me feel my age,” Hannibal admitted softly, his voice betraying the vulnerability he felt in that moment. He unzipped Will’s jeans, tugging them down his hips, then over the swell of his lovely bottom. He truly was exquisite, and Hannibal took him in as though he’d never get the privilege again.

Will toed off his own shoes while Hannibal eased his pants and underwear down his legs, and then Will was as nature intended him to be. He came back to his feet at Will’s behest, a firm hand gripping him beneath his bicep. Hannibal leaned in to kiss him again, and Will leaned away immediately. His eyes were dark, glittering with a sheen on his wide eyes. A muscle jumped in his neck, and Hannibal touched his jaw to gain his attention. “What is it?”

“You think I’m beautiful?” Will asked lowly, his bottom lip quivering. Hannibal laced his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, tipping his head up so they could make eye contact. “Don’t… don’t _placate_ me, Hannibal. You really think that?”

“If I did not know you as well as I do, I would think you’re being coy,” Hannibal replied, taking in the raw beauty of his face and saving each detail to recall later when he could set pencil to paper. “The moment I met you, I noticed how beautiful you were. The light in you, Will. It’s blinding. As if you are on fire from within. Your eyes are unlike anything I’ve seen in all my life. They’re ever changing, their color reflecting the depth of your emotion from moment to moment. The moon lives in the lining of your skin, pale and beautiful. Everything has beauty, beloved. Not everyone can see it, however.” Will’s cheeks flushed a rose pink, and Hannibal touched the heat of them with the back of his fingers. “I see you, Will. I’ve always seen you.”

Will leaned up and closed the distance between them, kissing him hard and deep. Hannibal gripped his face in his hands, and Will let out the softest little moan of approval. His tongue tasted of whiskey with the sweet flavor of him underneath. 

Will’s hands cautiously left Hannibal’s hips, coming around to his buckle to undo it, as well as the button of his slacks. Hannibal pulled away from him to strip himself of them and toe off his shoes, and then Will was back in his space, tugging his bottom lip between his blunt teeth. 

Hannibal backed him towards the bed, and Will settled against it, tugging Hannibal along with him. Hannibal spread Will’s thighs, easing himself between them. Their cocks brushed while Hannibal closed the space between them, leaning his weight against Will while tipping jaw up for another kiss.

Will sighed while Hannibal planted kisses down the soft column of his throat, towards his perfectly pink nipples that he’d never had a chance to taste, yet. He sealed his mouth over one, laving it to attention with his tongue, and Will let out a breathy little whimper at the attention. “Didn’t know they were an erogenous zone for me,” Will said softly, arching his back a bit while Hannibal suckled on his nipple. “Christ, but they are, though.”

Hannibal bit down on his nipple gently, tugging it a bit with his teeth. The wrecked little moan from Will made him grin around the soft flesh, and he flicked at it with his tongue. He pulled away from it reluctantly, working them both with his fingertips while kissing down his stomach. “They’re often over-looked for men,” Hannibal said between kisses. “A grave mistake, because there are just as many nerve-endings for men here are there are for women.”

“Fuck,” Will moaned, spreading his thighs a little wider. Hannibal rolled them between his fingers, plucking them gently. Each movement of his fingers caused a jolt to go through Will’s body, and Hannibal grinned while pressing kisses to his hipbones. The scent of his arousal this close made his mouth water, and Hannibal licked his lips, trailing his tongue towards the blush-pink cock straining against Will’s abdomen.

Hannibal continued working one nipple with his left hand, while his right gripped Will’s cock and lifted it towards his mouth. The head glistened, and Hannibal flicked his tongue out to taste him.

He tasted delicious, tart and savory, and Hannibal moaned while sinking his mouth around him further. He’d wanted this for as long as he could remember, and he planned to savor it. Will laced his fingers through Hannibal’s hair while he licked and sucked at Will’s cock, pulling him deep into the back of his throat where he swallowed around the head of it. Will whimpered, thrusting up minutely, and Hannibal pulled back towards the soft head of it, sucking another drop of precum from the slit. “If you’re plannin’ to yum yum, you should stop,” Will breathed with a chuckle. 

Hannibal let him go with a regretful pop, pursing his lips. “You taste exquisite. I have half a mind to take this to completion.”

“I have half a mind to let you,” Will said with a wide smile. Will reached towards the end table, gripping a small tube of lubrication between his fingers before placing it by his hip. “It’s not in a glass jar, but it should work just fine.”

Hannibal came back up to his knees, kneeling between Will’s spread thighs. He knew already that he’d be drawing this specific sight at another time. Will’s eyes were wide, his soft mouth parted. The blush on his cheeks spread down to his rosy nipples, the color the same vibrant pink as his thick cock. Hannibal wanted to see him on rose-colored sheets, a color that would compliment his pale skin and dark hair. He was truly the rarest kind of beautiful. “Would you like to take a picture, or…?” Will asked with an awkward laugh, covering his face briefly behind his fingers. “Hannibal?”

Hannibal came back to himself enough to coat his fingers a bit, pressing gently at the tight little ring of muscle between Will’s cheeks. “Forgive me,” he said lowly while pressing a single digit inside of Will’s body. “You are a distractingly lovely thing.”

Will hummed, tipping his hips upwards in a blatant invitation that Hannibal accepted eagerly. He eased another finger inside, marveling at the constriction around his fingers. Will’s soft mouth was parted, a few breathy sounds escaping when Hannibal found the spot inside and brushed it with his fingertips. He leaned over Will’s body while working him open, slanting his mouth over Will’s own.

Will gripped his face in his fingers, kissing him deeply while Hannibal scissored him open enough to take another finger. Once his ring finger was eased in, Will gripped his bottom lip between his teeth, sucking the flesh into his mouth. Hannibal’s hips jerked at the sensation, and he rutted his cock against the crease of Will’s thigh. “I think you’re ready, Will,” he sighed.

“How do you want me?” Will asked innocently, unknowingly setting a fire to Hannibal’s insides. How did Hannibal want him? Any way he could have him, for the rest of his days.

He understood Will’s meaning, though. He pulled away from Will entirely, easing his fingers from the welcoming warmth of Will’s body. “Sit up,” Hannibal said softly. Hannibal sat in the middle of the bed, his legs spread wide across the mattress. “Come sit on my lap, facing me.”

Will cleared his throat while settling his weight on Hannibal’s thighs cautiously, a few scant inches between them. “This… uh,” Will said awkwardly while gripping Hannibal’s shoulders. “This is kind of personal, don’t you think?” Hannibal gripped the back of his thighs and closed the distance between their bodies entirely, trapping Will’s cock between them while their noses bumped together. “Christ,” Will sighed.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” Hannibal instructed breathlessly, willing his body to calm down while Will complied reluctantly. His heels rested against Hannibal’s hips, sitting Indian style. Their faces were impossibly close, the blush on Will’s cheeks growing more vibrant. “Breathing will be important,” Hannibal told him, gripping the firm flesh of his bottom in his palms. “This is not a race to the finish line, Will. Our breathing should be matched. Eye contact is key. Allow me to do all the work, alright?”

Will nodded, tipping his nose against Hannibal’s cheek while wrapping his arms around Hannibal’s neck. Hannibal reached under his bottom, gripping his cock so it rested just against the welcoming heat of Will’s entrance. “Breathe with me,” Hannibal said softly. He deliberately inhaled and exhaled slowly, and Will immediately mimicked him. 

He eased inside of Will slowly, breaching him and spreading him further with the head of his cock. Will’s breathing stuttered, but he continued matching Hannibal’s breathing, breath for breath. “Look at me,” Hannibal pleaded, and Will’s eyes left his shoulder to find Hannibal’s own.

Once he was buried inside of him, they stayed still for a few moments, breathing and taking one another in. Hannibal slid one hand from his bottom, up the arch of his back, holding his body as close to his own as he possibly could. Will’s own fingers wandered his shoulders, easing into the hair at the nape of his neck. “This feels…” Will sighed, leaning forward to press a kiss to his mouth. “Intimate.”

“It is,” Hannibal replied, pressing soft kisses to the corner of his mouth. He was having some difficulty concentrating with the heat and constriction around his cock, but he managed. “Stress relief with a partner, Will. That’s the point of this.”

“A partner,” Will repeated softly, trailing his eyes over Hannibal’s face. “Okay.”

“Keep your breathing even with my own,” Hannibal said softly. He began thrusting gently into Will’s body, little rocking movements that caused Will’s breath to stutter and his fingers to grip tighter. “Through all of it.”

Will nodded, tightening his legs around Hannibal’s waist and pulling him impossibly closer. Hannibal could feel his heart racing against his chest, and he knew that Will would be able to feel his own, too. Each gentle thrust into Will’s body caused a little shiver of pleasure to run through him, his eyes darkening to midnight as he held Hannibal’s gaze. Will’s cock was pressed tightly between them, leaving a damp trail against their abdomens with each shift of Hannibal’s hips. 

Hannibal loved him. How could he not? This beautiful enigma of a man was a rarity in the world. His palms traveled over the soft expanse of his back, memorizing the texture of his skin. Will tipped his jaw up with his fingertips, their noses brushing while their breaths ghosted across one another’s faces. Will looked very thoughtful, a small furrow between his dark brows, the intensity of his dark eyes drawing Hannibal’s breath from his lungs. He wondered if Will was reading him, taking in his expression as well as his body language and piecing it together in that brilliant mind of his. The thought should cause wariness, but it did not. Hannibal held him closer still, thrusting into his body while his mouth found Will’s own.

________________________________________

Will had no idea why he agreed to this. This was… far more intimate than he’s ever been with anyone. Their proximity forced a level of intimacy that flared his gift to life, and what he was picking up…

What he was piecing together was alarming. Not that Hannibal had feelings for him. He knew that already. What he didn’t know was the depth of it. The all-consuming, bone-deep, ache that it caused in Hannibal. 

What he didn’t realize was how those suffocating emotions were also his own.

What Will was feeling between them was not Will reflecting his feelings back, but something more. A little current between them that had found a place to ground itself. Like a feedback loop of pleasure and… oh fuck. And love.

Love. The thought caused a ripple of anxiety to pass through him, and he glanced down at the pout of Hannibal’s mouth to copy his breathing. His pace was slow and languid, but each thrust of his hips caused his cock to glance off his prostate, keeping him at a low simmer through all of it. The sheer devotion on Hannibal’s face was enough to make Will want to hide, but there was nowhere to go.

Their noses brushed with each shift of Hannibal’s hips. Their chests were pressed so tight that Will was certain even their heartrates had synced up.

This was more than sex. This was two pieces of a whole coming together.

The scent of Hannibal’s cologne grounded him. The feel of his fingers against his back kept him tethered in the moment. More than anything else… his eyes. Hannibal’s eyes held him as though he were memorizing everything about him. The scrutiny of it would normally have caused some wariness in Will, but the sheer reverence of his gaze dissipated the feeling entirely. 

Will cautiously brought his fingers to Hannibal’s cheeks, trailing them over the sharp edges of his cheekbones. He glided them over the arch of Hannibal’s thin eyebrows, then up his regal forehead. His hair had come loose, and Will eased his fingers through the silky strands, smoothing them back so he could press a kiss there. Hannibal’s eyes closed as Will’s lips met his skin, and Will held him closer.

The intimacy of this… was astounding. Will trailed his lips from his forehead, over his eyelids. He kissed each cheekbone, then the corner of his mouth. His top lip was begging for attention, so Will suckled it into his mouth, biting gently at it while Hannibal brought him a kind of pleasure he’d never experienced before in his life.

Their breathing was matched, their heart beats in sync. Each rock of Hannibal’s hips began to feel like a match being struck to gasoline, lighting him up from the inside, out.

Their bodies grew slick with sweat, Will’s cock pulsing between them. Will crushed his mouth in a searing kiss, and Hannibal returned his vigor eagerly. Will clenched around him a few times, drawing a startled moan from Hannibal in response, the sound of it echoing through the cavern of Will’s mouth.

Hannibal’s fingers wove into his curls while his other arm stayed banded around his waist, crushing their bodies together. The connection between them flared brightly, and Will had no idea who was feeling what, anymore. They were feeling as one living thing, each breath between them matched perfectly.

Will knew he was close, because Will himself was close. It was an otherworldly connection between them, deep and relentless.

Neither had to speak, each simply knew they were nearing the end. Will’s nerve-endings were firing off, hot pulses of pleasure making his limbs tremble. Will could not help himself when he began rocking over Hannibal with each thrust of his hips, each moving together purposefully.

Will rested his forehead against Hannibal’s own, each breathing in one another’s air while he toppled over the edge. His cock pulsed between them, the pleasure of it almost blinding in its severity. Each jerk of his cock trapped between them caused his muscles to lock up, and Hannibal moaned, spilling deep inside of him.

They held one another gently afterwards, and even that felt momentous. Will stayed right where he was, his legs around Hannibal’s waist while they kissed and came down from their high. They stayed close for so long that Hannibal’s cock eventually softened and slipped from his body, and even then, no one moved to get up.

Hannibal’s fingers were tracing his jawline, touching his bottom lip, stroking his cheek. Will closed his eyes and leaned into it, basking in the warmth of being cared for in this way. It was not a sweet and selfless love. It was a dark, possessive thing, like being snared by a beartrap. It hurt, and it would never let Will go. 

“Why does it feel like this was… manipulative of you?” Will wondered. “My gift… you had to know what a position like this would make me feel between us.”

Hannibal gave him a soft smile, his eyes warm and glowing in the low light of the room. “Perhaps,” he conceded with a shrug, gliding his long fingers down Will’s throat. “I could never have guessed it would be like this, however.”

“I guess not,” Will agreed softly. “Besides stress-relief, what is the purpose of this position, Hannibal?”

“To regain a connection with your partner,” he replied honestly, tilting his head into the crook of Will’s throat. He felt Hannibal inhale gently against his skin before he pressed a kiss there. “To strengthen the bond between two people.”

“Well,” Will sighed, lacing his fingers through Hannibal’s hair. “Mission accomplished. Do you have somewhere to be tomorrow, or can you stay tonight?”

Hannibal glanced at the clock on the end table, a little frown on his face. “I should be going,” Hannibal replied. “I have a patient at eight in the morning, and I have no spare clothes with me.”

Will said nothing, as anything he would say would sound incredibly possessive. He pressed a kiss to Hannibal’s mouth instead, holding him closer. “I guess I’ll see you Wednesday, then.”

Hannibal made a low noise in the back of his throat while dragging his fingers down Will’s spine. “Maybe you could spend the night this weekend? If you have no prior engagements, of course.”

Will’s mouth betrayed him by smiling, and he found himself nodding. “Yeah,” he said, smiling wider. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know what happened. This was supposed to be porn, straight up. THEN these two brought FEELINGS into the yum yum, and well.. here we are.
> 
> <33


	4. Chapter 4

The Tantra position worked far better than he had hoped it would. Will was surprisingly receptive to allowing Hannibal to take the reins, and Hannibal hoped that tonight would be no different. 

He prepped his bedroom for later that night, when Will would come for dinner and stay the night with him. He had procured rose pink silk sheets and a white duvet for his bed, and there were candles lit on every surface. The fireplace was lit, casting the room in a cozy glow as well as heating it comfortably.

He wanted Will relaxed and open during their lovemaking. The connection between them flared and burned brightly during their last encounter, and Hannibal adored that Will was… receptive to allowing Hannibal to do as he pleased.

It was not lost on him that Will had made enormous concessions with his own personal boundaries the last time. He hoped this time would be no different. He had a few more ‘therapy’ positions up his sleeve, should Will want an excuse for Hannibal’s gentle lovemaking, but… he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

Will arrived promptly at seven, and Hannibal greeted him with a soft kiss at the door. Will seemed completely taken aback by it, his jaw setting uncomfortably while he allowed Hannibal to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “Uh,” he said with an awkward laugh. “This… isn’t a date, Hannibal.”

“Forgive me,” he replied. He could feel the person suit that Bedelia claimed he wore slipping with the disappointment he felt in that moment, and he schooled his face back into a carefully neutral expression.

It must not have been fast enough, because Will sighed and reached out to grip his wrist. “It’s fine, Hannibal. I just… _fuck_. Our relationship is hard enough, isn’t it? Adding sex maybe wasn’t the best idea.”

He shucked his coat, tossing it haphazardly onto the bench by the door, and Hannibal glared down at the rumpled material offendedly. “If you’re uncomfortable with the arrangement, we can stop at any time.”

“Can we,” Will drawled. “It doesn’t feel like that’s true. I’ve spent the last two days sorting myself out. Trying to get a handle on my… feelings about you. I know exactly what you feel for me, but… I don’t know how valuable that information is. How many people have come and gone from your life that were like me, Hannibal? How many others have you groomed like this, only to discard them when they stopped holding your interest?”

Hannibal’s mouth fell open, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. This was not a discussion for the foyer, yet Will had decided that it in fact was. “There are no others like you,” he replied honestly. “I’ve toyed with people, manipulated them as I’ve seen fit. I will not lie to you and tell you that wasn’t what I planned to do to you in the beginning, because it was. However, what I feel about you now is unlike anything I’ve ever felt for anyone. You aren’t a passing fancy, Will.”

The little derisive snort from his beloved mate was frankly rude, and Hannibal tried not to look affronted by the reaction. “You put me in prison, and you had no idea that you loved me when you did it, did you?”

Hannibal stammered, gripping his apron in his fist for a moment while regaining his bearings. “As I have nearly no experience with the emotion, I can tell you it came as quite a shock. I sat in my office alone at seven-thirty, mourning the loss of you. I had no idea how I felt until it was too late.”

“And how is it that you feel about me, Hannibal?” he wondered. His dark eyes glittered in the low light of the foyer, a sheen on them that could be tears or wariness, he had no idea. 

“Do you truly need the words, Will?” he retorted. “Love is a fickle thing, proven to bend and break with the wind. What I feel for you is not merely _love_. It’s something more than that. Telling you that I love you is trite. People say those words endlessly, to anyone and everyone. They do not encompass the depth of feeling that I have for you.”

Will rolled his eyes, biting his bottom lip with his hands on his hips. “Can’t just say it, can you? Stubborn,” he sighed. “What’s for dinner, then?”

Hannibal’s mouth flapped uselessly for a moment, indignation flaring that Will could be so flippant when he’d just cut his own heart out for him. “Did you not hear what I said to you?”

“Oh, I heard you,” Will replied, toeing off his shoes so he stood in stocking feet in Hannibal’s home. “You feel _more than love_ for me. I get it, Hannibal. You're not capable of it, right? It’s just… No one’s _ever_ said it to me. Not even my parents. It kind of fucking stings, that’s all.”

“You don’t feel that way for me, regardless,” Hannibal snapped. “So you’ll forgive me when I don’t understand what difference it makes. I’ve made fresh pasta with bolognaise for dinner. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

Hannibal retreated immediately into his kitchen, removing the fresh noodles from where they were drying on the rack so he could drop them in the boiling pan of water. Will followed him into the kitchen, twisting his fingers together while avoiding eye contact pointedly. “Maybe I should go home.”

‘If that’s what you think is best,” Hannibal replied in an unaffected tone. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his teeth ached, but he held his spine straight and his face as still as he could keep it. Will’s levity could be endearing on occasion, but when it came to Hannibal’s feelings for him, he felt it lost all of its appeal. 

Silence descended over them while Hannibal drained the pasta, tossing the fettucine in the bolognaise he’d prepared earlier. “Am I making you a plate, or are you leaving?” Hannibal asked, glancing up at Will coolly.

“Hannibal,” Will sighed while tugging his hand through his hair. He bit his lip again while tilting his head, “Make me a plate, please.”

Hannibal gave him a curt nod, twisting the serving of pasta delicately onto the plate. Will followed him into the dining room where the table was already set, candles lit for ambiance. Hannibal fought the urge to poke them out. They ate silently for a few minutes, and Will sipped his red wine delicately. “There’s something I need to tell you,” Will said softly, drawing Hannibal’s eyes up from his plate. 

Hannibal set his fork down politely, but what he was feeling in that very moment was anything but relaxed or respectful. Hannibal briefly considered that Will might be about to tell him he loved him, but the look on his face was far too nervous for that to be the case. Unless the love he felt caused him wariness? Hannibal tried to beat back the hope he was feeling in that moment, but he could not. “What is it?”

Will put his elbows on the table, swiping his fingers across his under eyes. His face was as carefully neutral as Hannibal had ever seen it, and he recognized the facial expression as one of his own. Will was mimicking him, whether he realized it or not. “When I first got out of prison…” he said softly, glancing down at the table briefly before looking back up into Hannibal’s eyes. “Jack approached me. He asked if I still believed you were the Ripper, and I told him I did. I told him that I could prove it if he could just give me time.

“I know how you feel about me, Hannibal. I can feel it, whether or not you ever plan to actually say it, so I knew exactly what bait to use. I went to your office and asked to continue our conversations, but the only point of it was to gather evidence on you. Earn your trust. Make you believe that I cared for you in return.”

Hannibal’s blood had run cold during Will’s admission, and he glanced down at his plate. He had a fork and a butter knife. Neither were ideal, really, but he’d made do with less. He gripped his butter knife in his hand, staring at Will with a hard expression. Perhaps he’d tell Will he loved him as he bled out in his dining room? “How far did Uncle Jack encourage you to go for this… sting, Will?”

“If you’re asking me if I’m a prostitute for the FBI, the answer is no. I did what we did because I wanted to,” he replied with a tight frown. His eyes were on Hannibal’s hands, the stiffness in his spine completely impossible to ignore. “Before you put me in prison, I could have told you how I felt, Hannibal. You were my best friend. I trusted you implicitly, which… I don’t know if you realize it or not, was a big fucking deal. I cared for you more than I have ever cared for anyone in my life, and you… you threw me away.”

“I didn’t know, Will,” Hannibal admitted, the grip on his knife slipping only a bit. “I had no idea how I felt… not until you were gone.”

“I get that,” Will replied, swiping absently at his eyes. “I thought, once I got out, that anything I felt for you was long gone. It… it’s not. I hate that you’ve hurt people I care about. I hate that you’ve fed me people, and… are still feeding me people. Who was in the pasta sauce, Hannibal?” Will asked dryly.

Hannibal cleared his throat, glancing away carefully. “I… Well, there was… uh-”

“You know what?” Will asked with a humorless laugh. “I don’t care. It’s fine. Whatever. The point is, I haven’t told Jack a goddam thing. Not a thing. You know why? Because while the thought gives me a fucking panic attack, I can admit that I’m… that I have… darkness in me. I can admit it. I can also admit that… that I do love you. God, I have no idea why I do, but there it is. I can’t turn you in to Jack because I protect what’s mine, Hannibal. You are mine.”

___________________________________________________________

Will still stared at Hannibal’s right hand that clasped the butter knife in a death grip. He was wary that he was about to be stabbed, but he honestly had no idea. Hannibal’s face was suspiciously blank since his confession a few minutes ago, and he hadn’t moved a muscle since Will finished talking. “You love me?” Hannibal repeated softly, his knuckles going white where they gripped the knife.

“Yeah,” Will replied, sitting back in his seat to put some distance between them. “I’m an _idiot_ , but yeah.”

Hannibal set the knife back down in the plate, and Will let himself breathe a relieved little breath. “You’ve given him nothing?”

“Nothing,” Will assured him. “And you’ve said some shit that could get a warrant. You had a liver in your fridge the other night, and I’m betting it didn’t belong to a cow. I won’t turn you in, Hannibal. I need you to understand that Jack is getting anxious. He wants evidence, and I won’t give it to him. He’s starting to suspect me, and… I can’t promise you that he won’t forge a piece of evidence to get a warrant. I imagine if he could just get into this house with a forensics team, he’d hit the jackpot. He will be getting a warrant. With or without my help.”

“How long do you think we have?” Hannibal asked softly, glancing up at with a faintly hopeful expression. 

Will shrugged. “A few weeks, maybe? If you can give me some… evidence for the lab to look at, it might buy us a few weeks to a month. Give me something from your freezer that isn’t a person. Give me a cutting board that you’ve never used for human beings. I’ll keep them busy, but… it won’t last forever.”

“If you can get me two weeks, I can make arrangements,” Hannibal assured him. His face hardened again while he stared at Will’s face. “Will you be joining me?”

Will sighed, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I’ve never known myself as well as I know myself when I’m with you. We’re… conjoined, Hannibal. Where you go, I go. Even if you’re not with me, you’re right here,” Will tapped his temple, shaking his head. “My inner-voice has become your voice.”

“Because you love me,” Hannibal said disbelievingly. “Will, I… I”

“ _Don’t_ say it back to me because I’ve said it,” Will blurted out. “Please. Don’t do that to me. If you’re not capable of it, that’s fine. I’d rather you’re honest with me.”

Hannibal frowned, reaching hesitantly for Will’s hand. Will allowed him to lace their fingers together, his thumb stroking softly against Will’s wrist. “I’ll never be perfect for you, Will,” Hannibal said softly, and the look of contrition on his face as he said it caused a pang in Will’s stomach. “But I will always imperfectly try to be. You’ve… changed me, whether or not you even realize it. I know of no greater happiness than to be with you all the time, without interruption, without end. 

“If I know what love is, it is only because of you. Love was just a word until you came along and gave it meaning. I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you. If you need the words, then yes. I do love you. In Japanese culture, they say _aishiteru_. It translates directly as ‘I love you,’ but it’s meaning is _far_ deeper than that. There are some married couples in Japan that will not even use the phrase, as its meaning is so laden with devotion and unending commitment. _That_ is how I feel for you, Will. Unendingly, uncompromisingly, devoted.”

Will swallowed thickly, glancing down at their joined hands with a small, stuttering, breath. “Jesus,” he breathed. “Okay. Uh, I get it, I think.”

“Do you?” Hannibal wondered softly, his eyes holding a note of desperate hope in them. The bone-deep ache of it made Will straighten his spine, and he nodded.

“Yes,” he replied honestly. “I understand how you feel entirely.”

Hannibal’s little smile felt a lot like a victory, and Will allowed himself a smile in return. “I will get you paperwork, Will. I’ll also send you away with some evidence, as it can take upwards of a week to get the necessary documents for travel. In the meantime, I’d make arrangements for your dogs if I were you.”

His dogs. How could he have forgotten about them? He’d just abandon them like everyone else in their lives had? He heard a sigh from Hannibal, and then warm fingers were tracing his jaw, tipping his face upwards. “I’m sorry, beloved. We cannot take them all, but… if you’d like, I will make arrangements for two to travel with us. When we get wherever we’re going, you may collect as many of them as you want. Alright?”

Two. Will’s mind raced with that, and he felt marginally better. He found himself nodding, resting his face in Hannibal’s palm. “Can we go upstairs?”

“If that’s what you’d like,” Hannibal said softly, smoothing his fingers across the stubble on Will’s face. 

“Got any more Tantra positions, or can we just…” Will blushed, averting his eyes with a shy smile.

“I do,” Hannibal chuckled while lacing his fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck. Will couldn’t be sure, but they seemed to fascinate him. His fingers always somehow found their way into his hair. “However, I’d prefer to make love to you.”

“Make love,” Will chuckled, glancing up at Hannibal with a raised eyebrow. Two grown men that delighted in death and manipulation, blushing and grinning like idiots at the idea of making love. It was ridiculous, but Will knew it made it no less the truth. “Okay.”

Will helped him clean up from dinner before they headed upstairs. There was a glow coming from the bedroom that made the hallway look like a bonfire was coming from the room. When Will walked in, his mouth fell open. There were white candles lit on every flat surface, spread across every end table as well as the hearth. The fire was dying off in the fireplace, but it still threw heat and light enough to stun Will to silence. The bed was… covered in pink sheets. Rose pink. He swallowed thickly while indignation crawled up his throat. “Are you planning to make love to me, or set me on fire?”

The startled laugh from Hannibal made Will smile hesitantly in return, and Will watched him as he added a few pieces of wood to the fireplace. “I thought the ambiance would be appreciated. I should know better with you by now.”

Will took in the room that felt more like a church than a bedroom, shifting his feet awkwardly. “It’s not… _unappreciated_. No one’s ever lit… how many candles are there?”

“Somewhere around thirty, I think,” Hannibal replied, still stoking the fire back up. 

“No one’s ever lit somewhere around thirty candles for me, before,” Will said, clearing his throat. Hannibal crossed the room to him, standing just shy of touching him. The lighting softened his face, made his eyes glow as though they were lit with amber coals from within. “What’s the deal with the pink sheets?”

Hannibal’s cheeks pinkened, and Will raised an eyebrow at him. “I imagined you in them,” he replied softly, averting his eyes quickly to said pink sheets. “The color of your cheeks, the flush of your skin. The color will compliment you entirely.”

“You bought… pink sheets because they match my blush?” Will asked incredulously. “You _are_ a serial killer, right? Or is my brain on fire again?”

“Will,” Hannibal sighed. His name again, encompassing everything Hannibal was feeling in the moment. This time, it implied he was annoyed.

Will laughed, reaching up to stroke the little blush on his cheek. “What annoyed you? My flippancy about you being the Ripper, or bringing up my encephalitis?”

“Must you always instigate me? Or is that an impossibility for you?” Hannibal sighed again.

“Not _impossible_ ,” Will shrugged, tugging him closer by his beltloops. “It’s just easy to get you going. Wind you up… and watch you _go_ ,” Will said with an arch of his eyebrow.

Hannibal’s eyes narrowed on him, his mouth pursed tight. “ _Have_ you forgiven me, Will? It doesn’t seem like it.”

“I told you I did,” Will replied honestly, glancing down the lean line of his body appreciatively. “The question should be why it bothers you when I talk about it. Have you forgiven yourself?”

Hannibal stiffened at that, his mouth falling open briefly. “I suppose I haven’t.”

Will hummed, going up on his tip toes to nibble at Hannibal’s ear while wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Well, try,” he replied softly, licking at his earlobe, and earning a shiver for it. “Because I forgive you. Even if I am still kind of mad that you let me think I was going nuts. If it ever happens to me again, please just tell me.”

“If it happened again, I would tell you,” he replied immediately while wrapping his arms around Will’s waist. He pulled away a bit, trailing his fingers across Will’s forehead. “I took a risk with you,” he said softly. “A risk with a part of you that makes you who you are. It was foolish.”

“I really should make you suffer, huh?” Will said with a teasing grin. “I am pretty creative. I could think of something good.”

“I’ve no doubt,” Hannibal agreed with a small grin of his own. “What comes to mind, I wonder?”

Will arched an eyebrow at that, smiling ruefully. “Well,” he said with a sigh while Hannibal traced his jawline with his fingers, lacing them through his hair again. “I could shave my head.” Hannibal’s fingers gripped his hair, his face hardening minutely. His entire body stiffened at the thought alone, and Will laughed. “Shave it with a razor. Clean to the scalp. Maybe I’ll get a head tattoo.”

“You wouldn’t,” Hannibal said pitifully, gripping his curls in his fingers as if willing them to stay where they were.

Will shrugged nonchalantly as if considering it. “I’ll grow a beard. A full, biker beard that I can braid sometimes. A tattoo of antlers on my bald head. I’ll get contacts, too. They come in colors, now. Maybe I’ll get brown ones.”

“Will,” Hannibal said by way of warning. His fingers were twirling themselves into his curls, a little frown marring his face. “Please.”

“That easy, huh?” Will laughed. “I’d never do that, Hannibal. My ears stick out too much. My dad was almost bald by the time he passed, though. So… it might happen regardless.”

“If it happened because you’ve grown old with me, then so be it,” Hannibal replied, leaning forward to scent his hair at his temple. “I doubt I’ll be pretty by then, anyway.”

“You’re gonna look like this till you’re ninety,” Will laughed, stroking his fingers across his regal cheekbones. “Everyone in the nursing home is going to hit on you, and I’ll come at them like a rabid animal with my walker.”

“Bald as a babe,” Hannibal replied with a vibrant laugh. His smile was all teeth, honest and alarmingly adorable. The creases at the corners of his eyes deepened with the jubilant expression on his face, and Will took in the raw beauty of him.

“Please,” Will said offendedly with a bright laugh. “I’ll have a toupee. One with _curls_.” Hannibal picked him up as though he weighed next to nothing, and Will squeaked in surprise while latching onto him like a koala. “ _What_?! Hannibal,” he laughed.

Hannibal set him on the bed, tipping his face up for a kiss that was so intense that Will’s toes curled in his socks. His tongue licked into his mouth while he tugged Will’s sweater up and off, pulling away only to throw it to the floor behind them. Will was hyper aware of the silky sheets under him. The silky, _pink_ , sheets that apparently matched his blush.

The thought, annoyingly, made him blush further while they stripped of their clothes. Hannibal nudged him to the middle of the bed, easing himself between Will’s spread thighs, their cocks gliding together while Hannibal nuzzled at his mouth. “Beautiful,” he said appraisingly, stroking the heat of Will’s cheeks with the back of his fingers.

There was a part of Will that wanted to rebel against the romantic gesture, sit up and throw Hannibal to the bed so he could ride him as he had done previously. There was another part of him that was curious about Hannibal, how kind and gentle he could be, when he wanted to be.

His inner war was a silent one, but it still did not go unnoticed. Hannibal released his nipple from his mouth, licking at the reddened skin gently. “Where have you gone, beloved?”

“I don’t do well with intimacy,” Will replied honestly, gnawing his bottom lip. “This… whatever we're doing right now… is not anything I’ve done before.”

“The other night was very intimate,” Hannibal pointed out while pressing absent kisses to his ribs. “You seemed to be alright.”

“I was on top,” Will said without much thought. He blushed further, glancing away from the scrutiny of Hannibal’s eyes. “I don’t like being… _pinned_.”

Hannibal sat up abruptly, his nostrils flaring as he kneeled between Will’s legs. “Has… did something happen to you, Will?”

“ _No_ ,” Will said immediately, shaking his head. “Nothing like that. I just… feel trapped. Nothing has ever happened; I’ve just never liked it. Not even with women.”

He could tell that Hannibal wasn’t sure he believed it, even though it was the truth. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t like being under someone else, but he had an inkling that it was because of his gift. He liked being able to lean away if he wanted to, when the emotions between himself and his partner were overwhelming him. They were never overwhelming like how they were between himself and Hannibal, of course. Usually, they were overwhelming in the sense that he knew that his partners were using him to find their pleasure. It was the main reason why his sexual encounters were so few and far between. He did not like feeling… _used_. “I’m not lying to you. No one has ever… Hannibal, I promise you. If we did it like this, I’ll be fine.”

The thick swallow from the older man made him feel guilty, and he sighed. “Like this?” Hannibal said softly, running his palms down Will’s thighs. “Without me leaning over you?”

“Yeah,” Will replied. “This is good.”

The little furrow of concern between Hannibal’s pale eyebrows compounded the guilt for some reason, and he reached for the little glass jar on the end table. “Don’t treat me like I’m fragile, or I’ll slap you silly.”

A hesitant smile crept across Hannibal’s lips, and he took the jar from Will’s fingers. “Heaven forbid I incite the wrath of Will Graham.”

“God himself couldn’t save you,” Will laughed, and he felt his muscles relax a bit in the silky sheets. 

Hannibal sunk his fingers into the jar, scooping out a little blob of lube to rub between his fingers. Hannibal adjusted himself on his knees, and Will eased his thighs over them, spreading himself open a little more. Hannibal’s eyes flicked over his body, a soft, appreciative smile on his face. One slick finger eased inside of him, and he clenched his muscles up, willing himself to relax. It didn’t go unnoticed, of course. Nothing he did in front of Hannibal ever went unnoticed. “Do you keep your empathy open during encounters like this?” he asked softly while stretching him open.

“N-no,” Will said breathlessly when Hannibal brushed absently at that spot inside of him. “It’s always… kind of open. Always… feeling,” he said thickly. “I can’t shut it off, but I can open it more.”

“Have you ever done so?” he wondered, glancing up at Will’s face curiously.

“No,” Will said, shaking his head. Another finger was eased inside of him, and he arched his back a bit to welcome them. “It’s unnecessary.”

“What are you feeling from me right now?” he asked softly, his fingers ever so gently stretching him open. 

Will focused on him a bit, paying attention to the softness in his eyes, the way his free hand gently cupped his hip. The reverent expression on his face as he regarded Will against the sheets he picked out. “As inexperienced as I am with intimacy, you’ve never had anything like this either,” Will said softly, earning himself a startled arch of one of Hannibal’s eyebrows. “You’ve never wanted anyone like you want me. You’ve never loved anyone like you love me. You think,” he gasped when Hannibal struck his fingers against that spot inside of him, causing a shiver of want to creep through his veins. “You think I’m beautiful.”

“Yes,” Hannibal agreed easily, gliding his free hand up Will’s ribcage to trace them with his thumb. “So very beautiful.”

“I’m your equal,” Will went on, reading each reaction to everything he said and taking it in, processing it, making sense of it. “You don’t see anyone else that way. It’s like you view us as a separate species, something _other_ and better than other people.”

“We are,” Hannibal agreed again, this time with a prideful little smile on his face. “You are extraordinary, Will.”

“You…” Will stalled out when Hannibal added another finger, and he’d taken such care opening him up that there wasn’t even a mild burn as he slid it inside. “You view me as _above_ you, in a way. You don’t necessarily believe in God, but you do believe in me. Why you would pick someone like me to worship, I have no idea. A sadist, perhaps.”

“Perhaps,” Hannibal said with a bright laugh, gripping Will’s hip gently in his large palm. “I do worship at the altar of you, though.”

Will hummed, tipping his hips up in an effort to get Hannibal to brush that spot again, letting out a relieved little sigh when he did. “When I said that I’d fight off anyone in a nursing home that tries to hit on you, you liked that. Loved it, in fact. You love the idea that I’ve planned to keep you in my life for the remainder of it. That I’ll love you for that long.”

Hannibal’s fingers stilled inside of him, and he glanced up at Will’s face with a heavy expression. “Yes,” he replied eventually before withdrawing his fingers to slicken his cock. The blunt head of it pressed against him, and Will fought the urge to arch up and pull him inside of his body. “Yes, Will.”

“It-” he moaned while Hannibal slid in, the friction and stretch both too much and not enough. Raw pleasure arched his back from the bed as Hannibal brushed that spot inside with the head of his cock, and he whimpered. “It frightens you that I see you this clearly,” he said quickly through panted breath. “But you love it.”

Will gripped his hips while he thrusted himself inside, and Hannibal groaned. “Yes,” he agreed with a hiss of breath. He tugged Will’s thighs higher up on his own, keeping his torso from hovering over Will in any way while he glided into Will’s body. 

He wasn’t using Will to get off. He was worshipping him with his own body. Everything he did wasn’t to bring himself pleasure, but to bring Will pleasure instead. His pleasure was incidental. As if secondary to anything else happening between them. “You want something more from me right now,” he noted absently, gripping onto Hannibal’s sides. “You won’t ask for it, though. What is it?”

Hannibal shook his head, his eyes flashing up to Will in apology while he held the small of Will’s back. “It’s nothing,” he said quickly. “Will, this is enough.”

Hannibal didn’t need to tell him a thing. His eyes flicked quickly to Will’s mouth, his tongue darting out to wet his lips, and Will knew. He wanted to kiss Will, but he wouldn’t lean over him to do it. Wouldn’t pin him like that.

“Hannibal,” Will sighed, gliding his fingers up his sides to tug at his shoulders. “Please. Come here,” he pleaded softly. “I want to kiss you.”

Hannibal pressed deep inside, rolling his hips to a grind while looking up at Will with a startled expression. The pleasure of what he was doing was blinding, and Will writhed beneath him, trying to get away from it and keep it going at the same time. “You don’t want that,” he said softly, breathlessly. “You know that I want it, and you’re appeasing me.”

“Please,” Will pleaded, going up on one elbow to drag him down by the nape of his neck. “Please.”

Hannibal sighed, easing himself over Will’s body to bring their mouths together. His cock was trapped between their stomachs, and Will wrapped his legs around his waist to keep him close. “Like this,” Will sighed against his mouth. He didn’t feel pinned. He felt… revered. The breath in his lungs left him in a whoosh, and he laced his fingers through Hannibal’s hair, crushing him in a deep kiss.

Hannibal kept trying to lift his weight from him a bit, but Will latched onto him with arms and legs, grinding his hips upwards to meet each of his thrusts. Will gripped his face against his own, licking into his mouth, breathing in his breath, and Hannibal shivered. 

He kissed down the line of Will’s jaw, suckling the skin of his throat roughly while his hips grew demanding. Each downward thrust trapped his cock between their bodies and gave it much needed friction, setting off multiple points of pleasure that Will could not focus on in the least.

Hannibal’s mouth was sucking the skin of his throat, one of his hands working a nipple to stiffness to pluck at it, his other hand wandering over his hip, his ass. Hannibal was all over him, and Will’s gift snagged and snared in every heavy emotion rolling off of him, _highlighting_ it, making each touch feel electric and intense.

“Christ,” Will breathed, gripping Hannibal’s chin to bring him back up to his face. He knew Hannibal was nestled in his neck to give him privacy. He knew it because he knew Hannibal, and there was no way he didn’t want to look Will in the eye during this. The moment their eyes connected, Hannibal’s pace slowed down to a grind, his fingers tracing Will’s cheek while his breath ghosted across Will’s face.

“ _Aishiteru_ ,” Hannibal sighed, gliding his lips against Will’s while they gasped through their pleasure together. 

Will could feel the meaning of the word through Hannibal’s reverence. Heavier than love, more intense than devotion. Everything about it was wild, like something from a fairy tale that only happened to princes and princesses. Never to Will.

But Hannibal was no prince charming. No knight in shining armor. He was the dragon they were sent to slay.

And Will… he was no damsel in distress.

Heat and pleasure licked up his abdomen, drawing his balls tight with each grind against his prostate, and Will gripped him between his thighs, arching his back to get more of it. Hannibal’s pace grew urgent, their skin slapping with each purposeful little thrust of his hips. Hannibal’s eyes were dark and fathomless as they watched Will’s own, his fingers still touching Will’s face as if to prove to himself that this was happening. 

Will cupped his neck, pressing damp kisses to his mouth and his cheeks, and Hannibal’s eyes fluttered shut. “Look at me,” Will gasped, pressing his thumb to his bottom lip to feel the silky smoothness of it. “Hannibal,” he sighed.

His eyes opened, a hungry expression in them while his thrusts grew to a rapid, needy, pace. Will moaned, gripping the skin of his shoulder as he came between them, his body pulsing and trembling with each jerk of his cock between them. Hannibal watched his face the entire time he finished, and Will had a moment of clarity where he knew that whatever he just saw was going to find its way to a sketchbook in the future.

Hannibal snapped his hips, pumping into him with abandon, and Will clenched up through it. He was over-stimulated, and everything Hannibal was doing was borderline too much at this point. He’d never say a damned word, though.

He kissed him through it, dragging his tongue against Hannibal’s own, licking at his lips. The sharp little gasps of pleasured pain were over-loud between them, and the long moan from Hannibal in response was like music to Will’s ears.

Hannibal’s hips stuttered, and he slammed deep as he came, his cock pulsing and jerking while emptying inside of Will’s body. He stayed only long enough to milk himself through it, and then he made to move away from Will to give him his space.

Will did not want it.

He latched onto him, dragging him down against his body like a heavy, warm blanket, and Hannibal sighed from his place against Will’s neck. “ _Stay_ ,” Will said softly, petting Hannibal’s back to easy the tensed muscles there. “Stay with me.”

Hannibal let out a long sigh, and then his full weight was resting on top of Will’s body. His mouth was pressing kisses to Will’s throat over a spot that felt suspiciously sensitive while his fingers traced Will’s collarbone. “Deep pressure stimulation is also a method for stress relief,” Hannibal said exhaustedly while stretching himself out over Will like a murderous blanket. “When you apply deep pressure to the body, the body switches from running its sympathetic nervous system to its parasympathetic nervous system. It encourages the body to switch from ‘fight-or-flight’, to ‘rest-and-digest’, mode.”

“Hannibal,” Will laughed, tipping his face against his temple to breathe in the scent of his hair. “Do you have to bring… therapy into this right now?”

“I’m merely pointing out that this in itself can be helpful for you,” he replied, though his mouth was moving slower than it was a few minutes before. “As deep pressure is applied to the body, the parasympathetic nervous system comes online, calming you and bringing a sense of well-being. In tandem with this change comes a release of dopamine and serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitters of the brain. These hormones help with motivation, impulse control, attention, memory, social behavior, sleep, and digestion.”

Will’s laugh turned into a full-belly one, and he gripped Hannibal close, encouraging him to sleep where he was. “Maybe I should sprawl on top of you, then. I don’t know how your mouth is moving this much right now.”

Hannibal’s tired little chuckle ghosted across the skin of his neck, and he tugged Will closer to himself. “Maybe next time,” he said softly. 

His breathing eventually evened out, his fingertips no longer exploring Will’s skin. Will tipped himself away a bit, looking down at the sweet, sleeping man in the crook of his shoulder. He waited for the instinct he felt usually to get away, to put distance between himself and his lover… but it didn’t come.

If anything, all he wanted was to wrap him in his arms and hold him closer.

So that’s exactly what he did, and sleep claimed him.


	5. Chapter 5

Hannibal woke first, as he was usually out of bed by five each morning. He could not imagine climbing from the bed just yet, not with the beautiful man sprawled across him in his sleep. The candles had long ago poked out, the fire dying off in the night. Will had worked himself half into the blankets, the rose pink and white of them twisting around his slender waist. Hannibal’s arm was trapped under his body, his hand pins and needles that felt like static. Will’s curls were wild against his pillow, one arm slung carelessly across Hannibal’s stomach.

The length of his dark eyelashes against his cheeks. The soft, damp, pout of his sleeping mouth... Hannibal sighed, reaching forward to smooth those errant curls, but they sprang free, choosing freedom instead.

Hannibal felt a pang of pride in him that not even Will’s curls could be tamed. He was a beauty.

He laid in bed for a few more minutes, savoring Will’s scent and his lovely form before the bathroom called to him. 

He climbed from the bed carefully, and Will twisted himself in the sheets, nestling into the warmth that Hannibal left behind. He looked… small in the bed. Sweet and small, curled into the space that Hannibal cleared for him. Hannibal fought off the urge to climb on top of him and crush him in an embrace.

Completely undignified, honestly.

He used the facilities and brushed his teeth before creeping down to the kitchen. He started his coffee maker, then did the dishes from the night before. 

He checked TattleCrime while he sipped his first coffee of the day, but there was nothing useful, there. He hadn’t killed anyone recently, and he felt no inherent desire to do so. It was… strange. All he seemed to want to do is force a smile from Will’s face, bask in warmth of him and give him the world, if he wanted it.

He suspected that all Will would want is his dogs, though. His dogs, and somewhere close-by where he could fish and be one with the outdoors.

His house in Spain had that, and it was under an alias. He’d have to get in touch with the man who procured his documents and see what he could do for Will.

He wanted him to have all of his dogs, and he got to work with figuring out just how that would be possible.

Eventually he set aside his tablet, gathering ingredients for their breakfast. Ricotta baked eggs with sausage and potatoes. He put everything together and set it in the cast-iron skillet while his oven pre-heated. He would put it in when Will was awake.

While he waited, he gathered some evidence for Will to take to work with him. He had a beef tenderloin that he took from the freezer, and he regretfully took his Boos Block cutting board that he used only for animal meat from the cabinet. He glanced around his kitchen for other things but couldn’t see anything that would stall them out more than this, for the time being.

He heard the upstairs shower running, and he set the pan of ricotta eggs into the oven. By the time Will came downstairs, a cloud of clean and damp skin scenting the air, Hannibal was removing the pan from the oven. Hannibal set the cast-iron skillet on the stove, turning to look at the beautiful man and startling when he realized Will was in his space. “Mornin’ darlin’,” he drawled, a soft, wide smile on his beautiful lips. His eyes were warm and bright as he leaned in, pressing a kiss to Hannibal’s mouth.

Hannibal’s brain was decidedly stuck in the mud at this turn of events, and he flapped his mouth for a few seconds, earning himself a wider smile. “Will,” he said eventually, and Will laughed.

“That face you’re making,” his beloved continued to laugh. “I love putting it there.”

Hannibal wasn’t sure what face he was making, but he was certain he looked pleasantly surprised. Will’s curls were drying in defiant disarray, and Hannibal reached up to tug at them. “I didn’t expect such affection this morning,” he admitted softly, his stomach fluttering as Will settled out into his arms, his mouth pressing tender kisses to his throat. “I’m pleased to be wrong.”

“I’m kind of surprised myself,” Will admitted with a throaty little chuckle. “I was a little pissed off to wake up alone,” he said, tipping away to glare up at Hannibal with fire in his eyes. “You abandoned a man that has intimacy issues, Doctor Lecter. I’m coming up with creative ways to _eat_ you for it.”

Hannibal felt his cheeks redden, and he glanced away from Will because of his provocative statement. “Forgive me,” he said, clearing his throat. “I wanted to make us breakfast.”

“The smell of whatever you made is the only reason you’re forgiven for that specific indignity,” Will smirked. “Then I go shower, and I see _this_ ,” he said sharply, pointing at a bruise on his neck that caused Hannibal to grin with possessive pride. “How am I supposed to cover this at work, Hannibal?”

“You don’t,” Hannibal said with a laugh. 

Will’s eyes flashed in warning, and he leaned forward to suck a vibrant bruise against Hannibal’s neck in spite. Hannibal grunted as he pulled away, touching the spot his beloved had just bitten with a grimace. “ _Will_ ,” he spat. “I have a profession to think of,” he continued, earning himself a roll of ocean blue eyes. 

“And I don’t?” Will wondered while stepping away from him. He went up on his tiptoes to get a mug from the cupboard, and Hannibal simmered in the domesticity of how adorable he could be in stocking feet. “Some of my students are already sexually attracted to me, I don’t need them having a visual reminder that I fuck people.”

“You do not fuck _people_ ,” Hannibal replied bitterly, taking a few plates down from the cupboard while Will diddled with his coffee maker. “You make love to me, and _only_ me.”

“I’m sure that while they snicker about it, they’ll know it was done in love,” Will deadpanned. “How do I get coffee out of this?”

Hannibal set down the plates to show him how to get coffee from his Belgian balancing maker, and Will snorted. “Can’t just have a Keurig, right?”

“If I desired subpar, burned, coffee, then I would partake in a Keurig,” he replied indignantly. 

Will sipped the cup of coffee, a little appreciative groan escaping his mouth. “Yeah, this is good stuff.”

Hannibal plated their breakfast, taking it to the island for them to eat instead of the dining room. “You may take that with you,” he said as he set Will’s plate down, gesturing towards the frozen beef and cutting board. “That should keep them busy for a bit.”

Will nodded while eating his breakfast at an alarming pace. The little noises of appreciation he was making countered the mindlessness of his table manners. “Nice cutting board,” he remarked.

“It _was_ ,” Hannibal bemoaned while cutting into his own serving. 

Will finished the serving Hannibal cut for him, and he reached for the pan to serve himself more. “We’ll get you more cutting boards, darlin’. Where are we going, by the way?”

“I think Spain,” Hannibal replied, and Will turned to him with a raised eyebrow while cutting into his second serving. “I have a home there under an alias. It’s by a stream with a waterfall. I think you’ll adore the property, as there is plenty of room for your dogs.”

“It’ll be nice to get away from the cold,” Will shrugged. “What should I pack? Will I need clothes, things like that?”

Hannibal shook his head. “I’ll have the home stocked for us. Bring anything small that has sentimental value to you. We’ll be fine otherwise. I’m making a plan to leave two weeks from now. Saturday. Anything you want to bring with you should be here so I can ship it there before we leave.”

“I don’t have much,” Will said softly, patting his stomach as he finished his second generous serving. “Just a few things that belonged to my Dad.”

“Whatever you want or need, Will,” Hannibal assured him.

Will left sometimes after breakfast, as he needed to get home to his dogs. The following week was very busy with making arrangements and clearing out his basement. He made trips with anything that would incriminate himself, driving to his bluff house to drop instruments from the cliffside. All the… meats he’d procured were burned in the firepit at the bluff house, as well as all of his cutting boards and wooden utensils he’d ever used for anything… incriminating.

By the time Will’s Wednesday appointment rolled around, his basement was cleared, and his kitchen was sterile. Will joined him at his office, burning patient files as well as any sketches he’d ever done that were… suspicious. If anyone wanted to look into him at this point, they’d find absolutely nothing.

___________________________________________

Once he and Hannibal had burned everything incriminating at his office, he followed Hannibal back to his house to check out his basement. Will went over the entire space with luminol and a blacklight, but there was nothing even remotely incriminating to find aside from the carefully blank space. “Move some boxes down here,” Will said as he finished. “Make it look like storage.”

Hannibal nodded, rubbing at his shoulder absently. “I have some Christmas decorations and boxes of books in the attic, if you don’t mind helping me get them down here,” he replied. Will wondered just how many boxes of things he had, and if they’d even make a dent in a giant, empty, room this size. Whatever he had was better than nothing. 

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I can help you with that. Do you have a few shelves somewhere? Something that’ll fill this space up a bit?”

“In the attic as well,” Hannibal said thoughtfully. “What else, Will?”

“Put a real handle on the hatch door,” Will said, still glancing around the room with a sharp eye. “Make it look like it’s anything but a hidden room.”

Will helped him carry a few dozen boxes and a metal shelf to the basement, spreading them out to make it look like that’s all this space ever was for, and he wiped the sweat from his brow. “Good,” he said, a satisfied little grin on his face. “This’ll do.”

“Is it even necessary to leave, now?” Hannibal wondered.

Will turned to him, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth and his hands on his hips. He knew Hannibal didn’t want to leave his home. He could feel the reluctance on him as if it were his own. “It is,” he said apologetically. “Jack will never stop looking at you, Hannibal. If you make one wrong move, he’ll be on you like flies on shit. He’s not going to get a warrant quietly. He’s going to make a scene about it. It’ll tear down your practice, your life. Even when they find nothing here at all, you’ll be ruined.”

Hannibal watched him pace the space, scrubbing a hand across his scruffy chin. “Will,” he said softly, gripping Will’s forearm to tug him closer. “It’s fine. You and I… we’ll be fine.”

Will huffed a breath, looking up at Hannibal in surprise. Hannibal didn’t look especially worried about anything, and he had no idea how that could be. All it would take is for them to find one single thing that they missed, and he’d be watching them cart Hannibal off in the back of a cruiser. “I don’t know how you can be so relaxed right now. We’ll be… wanted criminals.”

“And for what crimes will we be wanted, Will?” Hannibal asked soothingly. “There will be no evidence whatsoever. We’ll merely have disappeared. Hardly a crime. Come upstairs and eat something,” he encouraged gently, tipping Will’s chin up to press a kiss to the firm line of his mouth. “Are you nervous?” Hannibal wondered.

“As a cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs,” Will said drolly, arching his eyebrows. 

“Then we’ll go to bed and expel that stress in a healthy way,” Hannibal replied, his lips brushing against the corner of Will’s mouth with each word.

“I don’t know how you’re thinkin’ about sex right now,” he drawled with a laugh, shaking his head. 

“You’re in front of me, aren’t you?” Hannibal said coyly, leaning down to nip at his jawline. “I can smell the sweat on your skin, and all I want is to lick it from your body.”

“Christ,” Will sighed, tipping his head to allow Hannibal’s tongue to lick and suck against the skin of his throat. He was resigned to have bruises there for the rest of his life, as his other half seemed to suffer from some kind of fixation with his neck. “Twist my arm, why don’t you.”

“I hardly think that’s necessary,” Hannibal purred, gliding his hands lower to cup his ass in his hands, squeezing gently. “You don’t seem disinterested.”

The little flare of arousal was frankly surprising. Will thought he was too keyed up to want this, but his body was slowly becoming accustomed to expelling his stress this way. Of course, the way he was attuned to Hannibal’s body made it much easier, too. Hannibal had put on a tee shirt to help Will move the boxes and shelves into the basement, and of course, it was tightly fitted. Every crevice of muscle was highlighted and pronounced, and Will felt his body responding whether he wanted it to or not.

“I want inside of you,” Will admitted while gliding his fingertips under the sleeve of Hannibal’s tee shirt. The material was already straining with the effort of not tearing with all that muscle stretching it, and Will’s mouth watered. “I want to feast on you, Hannibal. What do you think?”

The thick swallow was an answer in itself. Hannibal wetted his lips, drawing Will’s eyes towards his plush upper lip. “I am agreeable to that,” he said carefully, and Will laughed.

They left the basement, heading upstairs to Hannibal’s bedroom. The candles had been removed, and the sheets were now simple, soft, white ones. There was still a cozy fire going, and Will found he liked having a fire in the master bedroom. It made being naked in the room not uncomfortable, so Will shucked his sweater and tossed it to the floor. 

Hannibal was stripping off his own clothes, looking very somber. His eyes were traveling along his bedroom, and Will knew then that he was coming to terms with leaving this place. This house. His life.

He watched while Hannibal shucked off his slacks, heading towards the bathroom to put them in the hamper. “Are you… resentful towards me?” Will wondered as he walked back into the room in nothing but a pair of tiny black underwear. 

Hannibal raised an eyebrow at him, settling into his side of the bed with a sigh. “Resentful about what, beloved?”

Will pulled off his own jeans, kicking them out and off his legs before settling into the bed on his side. “I did this. Jack never would have suspected you at all if I weren’t… yelling it out to anyone that would listen.”

“You were in jail for things that I had done when you did,” Hannibal replied, a tiny grimace on his mouth. “You had every right to be angry at the time. I’ll miss this house, Will. But I am not displeased about leaving with you. I have all I’ve wanted. The… melancholy will pass.”

Will wiggled over until he was hovering over him, tilting his head to press his lips to Hannibal’s own. “I have a good remedy for melancholy,” Will chuckled while spreading Hannibal’s thighs to make room for himself between them. 

“What would that be, Dr. Graham?” Hannibal asked, and the timber of his voice sent a little shiver through Will’s body. 

“Get me ready for you,” Will said softly, pressing damp kisses down the line of his throat. 

“I thought you said…” Hannibal sighed while Will tugged one of his nipples between his teeth, laving it gently with his tongue. 

“I know what I said,” Will replied huskily, trailing his mouth lower to the slight softness of his belly. He sucked a vibrant bruise to the side of his hip, pressing a gentle kiss over it once he was satisfied. “Please.”

“On your stomach, then,” Hannibal prompted gently, and Will gave him a nod while flattening himself against the soft bed on his stomach. Hannibal eased his arm out from under his torso, straddling Will’s thighs while pressing kisses to the nape of his neck. 

He inhaled gently against Will’s curls, stirring them with his breath. “You could smell the encephalitis on me, couldn’t you?”

Hannibal hummed behind him, trailing his mouth from Will’s neck to his spine. One hand was on Will’s back, the other weaving softly in his hair. Always his hair. “Yes,” he said between kisses, “I could.”

“How?” Will asked in a small voice, spreading his thighs once Hannibal had peeled his boxers off his legs. Hannibal settled between them, and Will could feel him wiggling out of his tiny underwear, too.

“I have an extraordinary sense of smell,” Hannibal said, ghosting kisses against the small of his back while massaging him with his hands. “I can smell things that others simply cannot.”

“What do I smell like?” Will wondered, his body relaxing into a puddle against the mattress. His mouth was moving slower, and if Hannibal kept up like this, he was going to pet Will right to sleep.

“When you aren’t wearing that truly ghastly aftershave,” Hannibal began, and Will snorted. “You smell like your dogs. The faint mineral scent of spring water. Pine and fresh air. You smell of the mint in your shampoo, the faint scent of your drugstore bar soap. The scent of your skin holds notes of the ocean, salty and clean. When you’re aroused, you smell of a thunderstorm. Sharp. Metallic. It makes me want to demand you finish in my mouth only, Will.”

Will shifted against the mattress, trying to find some friction for himself while Hannibal gripped his thighs, urging him up onto his knees. “I’m sweaty from moving shit, Hannibal,” Will warned him, as he knew exactly where this was headed. “This is… the worst time for you to want to do this.”

“I’d argue it’s the best,” Hannibal replied, spreading Will’s ass cheeks with his palms while gripping the flesh of it appreciatively. “You are mouthwatering.”

“Jesus,” Will groaned, gripping the pillows in his sweaty fists while Hannibal gave him an experimental lick directly over his entrance. The throaty little moan from the older man made Will’s cock pulse between his thighs. He arched his back a bit, exposing himself more while blushing hotly. He lapped back in, his tongue soft and gentle, licking Will with short little kitten licks to his entrance. 

“Delicious,” he growled. There was a moment of reprieve before Hannibal sealed his mouth over his hole and fucked him with a pointed tongue.

Will’s hips snapped with the suddenness of it, a long, aching, moan escaping his mouth while Hannibal ate him out like he’d been starving for it. He felt the skim of teeth against his rim, as if Hannibal truly did want to bite down on him, and he shivered at the bizarre arousal the thought gave him.

Hannibal’s thumb breached him partially, and he suckled at Will’s entrance around the digit. “Oh, God,” Will moaned, rocking his hips back against Hannibal’s face. His tongue breached him, the pointed end of it tugging his rim from the inside, and Will lost the ability for coherent thought.

It was just the feel of it, intimate and enthusiastic, determined, and lazy at the same time. Hannibal was enjoying this as much as Will was, and it was startling to realize that his own pleasure was Hannibal’s as well. At some point, Hannibal spread him with two fingertips, licking and sucking at his entrance between his fingers. Will wanted to beg him for more, but his voice was stuck in his throat. All he could manage was throaty little noises that reeked of approval, and Hannibal chuckled against him. “It seems I can bring you to incoherency as well,” Hannibal noted huskily, a little note of pride in his voice. “You are beautiful like this.”

Will’s tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth, and he twisted his body to glare at the man behind him. “Come on,” Will sassed. “More.”

“In time,” Hannibal replied with a lazy grin. The two fingertips he’d been using to keep Will open eased inside of him, and Will dropped down to his elbows, rocking against them. He was soaked with Hannibal’s spit, but Hannibal still pressed lube against him, working it into his body with his fingers. They brushed errantly against his prostate now and again, and Will was slowly growing fed up with his pace.

Hannibal’s mouth trailed down to his testicles, pulling them into his mouth where he rolled them on his tongue. His fingers continued spreading him, brushing that spot, and retreating while his mouth suckled at everything in between. Will’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he snapped his hips backwards, drawing those fingers deeper inside of himself. “Demanding thing,” Hannibal mused with an amused chuckle. 

Will sat up abruptly, twisting his body to grab at Hannibal and toss him to the mattress. The other man’s eyes were wide; a soft, impressed smile on his mouth while Will gripped him behind his knees and folded him in half. “Your turn,” Will warned him before sucking his cock down his throat. 

Hannibal’s spine arched off the bed, but he couldn’t really go anywhere. Not with the way Will gripped him behind his knees and pinned them to his shoulders. Will bobbed on his cock roughly, swallowing around the head a few times while Hannibal’s little grin melted off his face. Eventually he didn’t need to hold Hannibal’s legs, as the older man took it upon himself to grip them.

Will used that to his advantage, letting the heavy cock fall from his mouth before suckling at his testicles. He lifted his sac, flicking his tongue out to collect the musky tang of him from behind his balls, then licked his way towards the clenching muscle of his entrance. Will groaned the moment his mouth sealed over his rim, licking his way inside of Hannibal relatively easily, given his position. 

His cock throbbed, so he gripped it absently, stroking it a few times to relieve the tension that was building up. Hannibal’s entrance clamped around his tongue, and Will moaned around him, the vibration of it causing a lovely little shiver to rock through Hannibal’s limbs.

Will reluctantly withdrew his tongue from him, scooping a blob of lube up from the jar beside them on the bed. He took his cock back into his mouth while stretching him with two fingers, and Hannibal was decidedly wrecked under him.

Long fingers wove their way into his hair, gripping the curls a bit to tug him, and Will let him direct his mouth as he wanted. Will glanced up at him, maintaining eye contact while Hannibal pressed his head down, urging Will to take him down his throat.

His eyes looked black; the pupils were so blown out. His mouth was parted, his lips a vibrant pink from eating Will out earlier. His grey-blonde hair fell over his forehead, and Will honestly was breathless with the beauty of him. His lips brushed the base of Hannibal’s cock before the older man tugged his hair, urging him to ease off. Only the head of his cock was in his mouth now, so Will suckled at it, flicking his tongue against the slit to collect the salty tang of him on his tongue. Hannibal’s head fell back against the pillow, a long moan escaping his mouth while his fingers pet Will’s curls appreciatively. 

Will pulled away from him eventually because he had big plans for Hannibal and his gorgeous body, and none of them involved anyone finishing in one another’s mouths.

The soft little mewl of disappointment from Hannibal was honestly adorable, and Will chuckled while easing back up onto his knees between his thighs. Hannibal let his legs go, and he wrapped them around Will’s waist while he slicked his cock with more lube. “You’re pretty bendy,” Will grinned, leaning over his sweaty torso to lick into his parted lips. 

Hannibal chuckled into the cavern of his mouth, nipping at Will’s bottom lip as he pulled away. “I’ve taken dancing classes in Italy,” he said proudly, his fingers wandering appreciatively over Will’s abdomen. “There was a point where I could do a split.”

Will gripped his cock harshly at visual that popped up in his head, and he shook his head while easing his cock inside Hannibal’s ridiculously tight body. “We’ll have to find out some day if you still can.”

All teasing banter subsided as he eased his cock inside. The warmth and constriction of him was startlingly perfect, just as it was the last time. This time was decidedly better, as he got to watch the wonderstruck expression on Hannibal’s face as he bottomed out inside of him. Hannibal clenched around him, and Will gasped, gripping onto Hannibal’s thighs while rocking gently against him.

He gave him a few moments to acclimate to the intrusion before he began moving more purposefully. “You feel so _good_ like this,” Will praised him. “God, so good.”

Hannibal gripped him between his strong thighs, reaching up to cup Will’s neck to drag him down for a kiss. Will went without a fight, as the plush part of his damp mouth was too good to ignore. The change in angle must have been good, because Hannibal’s body stiffened under him, a breathy little whimper ghosting across Will’s face. Hannibal licked into his mouth, suckling at his tongue, biting at his lips. He was relentless, and Will tipped his face to deepen the kiss on autopilot.

_________________________________________________

The feeling of Will moving inside of him was one that Hannibal honestly never thought would happen. He never thought Will would want him this way, first of all. Second, he never believed he’d ever be willing to allow someone inside of his body like this.

Will was not just someone, though. He was Hannibal’s other half. His mate. He already lived inside of Hannibal’s body, his heart. This was nothing compared to how thoroughly Will had worked his way inside of his life, yet it felt like the most monumental.

His beloved was so relaxed above him, his pace languid, yet deep. Every shift of his hips dragged his cock against Hannibal’s prostate, and it felt like it was lighting him up from the inside, the friction of it causing a fire inside of him.

His weight over Hannibal was comforting. The scent of him alone enough to satisfy him for the rest of his life. His eyes were so dark, just a sliver of ocean against a vast expanse of blown out pupils. His lovely curls looked like flames with the fireplace going behind him, his skin a soft cream color that Hannibal wished he could taste on his tongue. He wanted to draw this encounter out for hours. _Days_. He wanted Will’s eyes and hands on him and him alone. 

Hannibal kissed him again, savoring the sweetness of his tongue against his own, the soft press of his lips against his. His pace picked up marginally, and Hannibal clenched around him to relieve some of the ache he must be feeling. Hannibal understood that entirely.

Will shifted back to his knees, gripping his legs in his hands while snapping his hips purposefully. His head fell back, exposing the long, tempting, line of his throat. He was a beautiful man, and he was Hannibal’s.

 _Only_ Hannibal’s.

The change in position took away a bit of the pleasurable stimulation of his prostate, but Hannibal wouldn’t dare voice it. Not with Will working himself to completion so gorgeously, using Hannibal- no, _needing_ Hannibal, to do so.

His hips snapped harshly, nudging Hannibal up the bed a bit, a sharp moan bellowing out of his mouth with the abrupt action. “Hannibal,” he sighed, leaning back in for another kiss while he pumped himself inside of Hannibal with abandon.

Their kiss grew frantic while Will tumbled over the edge, pumping his seed inside of Hannibal as though he did not mean to finish so soon. Hannibal pulled away from his mouth to gasp at the sensation, the hot spill of him and scent of him nearly taking him over the edge as well.

Will regained his breath, his face tucked shyly against Hannibal’s throat. “Give me just a minute,” he said with a low chuckle, pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone. 

“Take all the time you need,” Hannibal said softly, tipping his face so those lovely curls tickled his nose. 

Will sat up eventually, pressing a lingering kiss to Hannibal’s mouth as he withdrew from his body. He pressed Hannibal’s legs to the mattress, shifting his own so that he was straddling Hannibal’s waist. “You ready, darlin’?” he asked with a mischievous little grin on his lovely mouth.

Hannibal opened his mouth to ask just what he was supposed to be ready to do, but Will gripped his neglected cock and angled it towards his loosened entrance, sinking down over it with one fluid drop of his hips.

Hannibal sat up abruptly, stilling Will’s hips as they settled out against his own, begging him not to move just yet. The sudden wet-hot constriction around him was entirely unexpected, and it felt so blissfully good that he was in imminent danger of finishing on the spot. Will seemed to understand that, and he held onto Hannibal’s shoulders gently, not moving an inch. “This may be… very uncomfortable for you after finishing already.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed with a breathless laugh. “I feel like I could go again, though. I just need a second.”

“I’m very close,” Hannibal warned him with a tight voice. “ _Very_ , Will.”

“You’ll hold on for me though, won’t you?” he asked coyly, rolling his hips in a tight little circle. Hannibal groaned, gripping onto him like a lifeline. “You’re so good for me.”

The feel of his slender little waist flexing beneath his hands while he rolled his hips sparked an alarming flare of arousal to go through him, and he struggled to not finish at the thought. He tried to think of anything else aside from the beautiful man grinding on his cock in his lap, but he couldn’t think of a thing.

Hannibal’s toes curled in the sheets, his hands leaving Will’s tempting waist to grip at his lush ass, squeezing the flesh there appreciatively. They were millimeters apart, their breath ghosting across one another’s faces, and Hannibal was lost in him. _Again_.

Will’s fingers left his shoulders, sliding up his throat to cup his cheeks. His thumbs trailed across the arch of his cheekbones, his eyes intense and reverent as they held Hannibal’s own. “I love you,” he said softly, breaking Hannibal’s resolve as well as his heart. He wished he could undo everything he’d done to his mate, but he could not. The only possibility was to do right by him from now on, and he was determined to do his best.

“Will,” he sighed, closing his eyes from the blatant adoration Will was showing him. He leaned forward to kiss him softly, and Will moaned, kissing him back just as sweetly. He could feel Will’s cock stirring between them, and he chanced a glance between their bodies.

It was not a good decision, as the sight of Will’s lithe body working itself over his cock only caused the flare of arousal to burn him from the inside, out. Will’s pace picked up a bit, and Hannibal thrust into him gently, afraid to tumble over the edge just yet.

Hannibal wrapped his arms around his slender waist, holding him tight against his chest while Will found his pleasure, setting his own pace. Will’s own arms went around his neck, his breathy little sighs caressing the shell of his ear, causing a shiver of want to rocket through him. Soft lips caressed his neck, his ear, his shoulder. He never imagined Will to be so loving. So attentive. He was a miracle, and he was Hannibal’s.

He gripped him tighter with the passing thought, thrusting up into the warmth of him thoughtlessly. Will moaned against his ear, weaving his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Hannibal,” he sighed, and Hannibal’s restraint vanished to dust.

He tipped Will backwards, easing him onto his back while drawing his legs over his forearms. Will’s eyebrow arched at the dominant adjustment, but he only smiled softly as Hannibal slid back inside of him. 

His pace grew erratic, his cock slamming into Will’s body while white-hot pleasure coursed through him. His every nerve ending was firing off, and he lost himself entirely while pounding his desire into Will with abandon. He had a stray thought that he should take care with his beloved, but Will seemed to come to life under him.

His back arched from the bed, his mouth parted in a shock of pleasure. His cheeks pinkened while his hands came up to grip his own curls while a long, loud moan scraped out of his throat. Hannibal reached between their bodies to grip his flushed cock, jerking him in time with his frantic pace, and Will fell apart.

“Oh _fuck_!” he thundered, his tiny mate’s voice echoing through the room. “ _Yes_ , Hannibal, fuck!”

Hannibal growled, his chest filled with satisfaction at getting his beloved to this point. His cock pulsed, his balls drawing tight against him while he jackhammered himself into Will’s body, his soft little mate writhing beneath him. 

The wet heat around his cock suddenly clenched around him, Will’s entire body stiffening while he came a second time. Every jerk of his cock in Hannibal’s fist caused his muscles to clamp down on him, and he wailed while tumbling over the edge.

He worked his cock through it, slamming his seed deeper inside of Will with each thrust until his body regained a bit of composure.

He slumped over Will exhaustedly, his heart slamming behind his ribs while he came down from the intensity of their… lovemaking? Again, he wasn’t sure that’s what this should be called.

Will let out a little huff under him, shifting his weight around, and Hannibal rolled to the side a bit so he could breathe. “You’ve been holding out on me,” Will said with a bright laugh, twisting his body a bit so he could see Hannibal’s face. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he replied, his mouth dry as a bone. “I lost myself for a moment. Did I hurt you?”

“Nope,” Will assured him, his face warm and open with an honest smile splitting his lips. “This… this was exactly what I needed.”

Hannibal scooped him up in his arms, pressing him tight against his chest. Will let out a little grunt, but he didn’t protest the affection in the least. “You’re a cuddler,” Will sighed, chuckling a bit with dismay. “I would not have guessed that about you.”

“Only with you, Will,” Hannibal chuckled, pressing a kiss to his wayward curls. 

“Yeah,” Will drawled, wiggling closer against Hannibal’s chest. “Only with you, too.”

“I should get up,” Hannibal said drowsily, though it was the last thing he wanted. “We never had dinner.”

“If you get up from this bed, I will beat you senseless,” Will retorted while snuggling deeper into Hannibal’s neck. “Stay.”

“Yes, beloved,” he replied with another laugh. “Anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters! This thing REALLY took on a life of it's own. The next chapter. OH MAN. I'm so excited for it. Thank you guys! You're all amazing <333


	6. Chapter 6

They awoke to the abrupt sound of the doorbell being rung endlessly, a rough, urgent, pounding on the front door. Will sat up, untwisting their sated limbs from one another while Hannibal grunted. “Someone is here?” Will wondered tiredly. “Hannibal, _wake up_.”

Hannibal climbed from the bed, shrugging on his pajama pants from the bench at the end of it. “What time is it?” Hannibal asked him while walking towards the door. 

“Five,” Will replied after squinting at the clock on the end table. He got out of bed too, as the knocking and doorbell were growing more relentless. There were suddenly the sounds of people in the house, and Will glanced at Hannibal who took off down the hallway.

Will could not find his jeans, so he reached towards the bench and snatched Hannibal’s bathrobe, as it was all he could find in the urgency of the moment. Jack’s booming voice was coming from the foyer, and Will cringed. This was bad. Very, very, bad. He tied the robe around himself tightly as he came down the hall, wishing there were a way for him to leave unseen. It wouldn’t matter. If Jack had a warrant like he suspected he did, he’d find a bed full of evidence that Will had been there.

“-cutting board with human blood on it,” Jack was saying to Hannibal in a stern voice. “Can you explain how it got there?”

“I very likely cut myself,” Hannibal replied, completely unperturbed. “Did you test whose blood it was?”

“They’re working on that now,” Jack boomed. “ _That’s_ your story? It’s your blood, Doctor Lecter?”

“There’s no one else’s blood that it could be,” Hannibal retorted, and Will almost rolled his eyes at the indignation in his voice. 

Will came around the corner of the stairs, wincing as he noticed Price and Zeller standing there while Hannibal looked over the warrant. Jack’s back was to him, but at the surprise on Jimmy and Brian’s faces, Jack turned to see what they were looking at.

Jack’s face portrayed surprise initially, his mouth falling open and his pallor going gray. “ _Will_ ,” Jack said absently, his face hardening slightly before his posture went rigid. “What the _hell_ are you doing here?”

Will stood on the staircase, crossing his arms over his chest. “I.. uh, stayed the night. Had too much to drink.”

“Too much to drink,” Jack repeated, sliding his judgmental eyes over Will’s body that was clearly wrapped in Hannibal’s bathrobe. “To think I trusted you,” he said accusingly. 

Will’s face flamed from the foot of the stairs, and he turned his body away. “I’m going to go get dressed,” he began.

“You’re going to stay right here while we conduct the search warrant,” Jack replied bitterly. “ _Both_ of you.” Will came down the stairs to sit on the bench in the foyer, and Hannibal sat down next to him hesitantly. “You don’t seem curious about how we got a cutting board of yours,” Jack said with a tilt of his head. Price and Zeller, as well as a few other agents filtered into the house, spreading out through the rooms and out of sight. 

Hannibal reached for his coat in the foyer, shrugging it over his bare shoulders. “I imagine Will gave it to you.”

“You don’t seem very offended by that,” Jack noted ruefully, shifting his eyes over to Will. He was sliding his eyes across Will’s throat with a tight grimace, no doubt noticing the hickey Hannibal gave him. Jack looked over to Hannibal, his grimace deepening when he saw a fading bruise on his throat, too. 

“I am deeply offended,” Hannibal said dryly, no hint of emotion in his voice whatsoever. “So very offended. Will, how dare you.”

Will rolled his eyes, flicking them to Hannibal in disbelief, while Jack sighed. “We _will_ find something,” he said threateningly. “I wonder how offended you’ll be when we do.”

He stormed off towards the kitchen where there was noisy clatter happening, and Will shifted on the bench to glare at Hannibal. “ _Will, how dare you_?” he repeated, arching an eyebrow at him. “That’s the best you could do? For someone who can fake human emotions, that was really ridiculous.”

Hannibal tucked him close, and Will stiffened at the feel of his arm coming around his hip. “It’s cold in the foyer, and you’re naked under there.”

“Hannibal for _fuck’s_ sake,” he whisper-yelled. “This is bad! Don’t you get that? Whose blood was it on the cutting board?” he whispered harshly.

Hannibal shrugged, pressing a kiss to his temple. “It could only be mine. Or Alana’s. She did cut herself here once while cooking. I can’t recall if she was using that cutting board at the time.”

“I can’t believe he got a warrant with that,” Will said disbelievingly. “Without even knowing who it belongs to, yet!”

“Calm down,” Hannibal sighed, pressing him closer. Jack glared at them from the kitchen, barking orders to the people around him before glancing away from them again. “The more nervous you are, the worse it looks.”

Anxiety eventually melted into boredom while they sat there. Will’s legs were cold, as the door kept opening and closing with agents leaving with boxes of supposed evidence. It had at least been an hour or more, and Will was getting restless. “My legs are fucking cold,” he spat, rubbing them together like a cricket to get the blood moving in them again. “This is fucking ridiculous.”

Hannibal glanced around, standing up to head into the living area. “Where are you going?” Jack boomed, and Hannibal pointed to a throw blanket on the couch. 

“Will is very cold, as he has naught for clothes under my robe,” he replied silkily, and Will cringed while watched the different colors crawl up Jack’s face. “I don’t want him to catch a chill.”

Jack glared at him, crossing his arms. “Tell him he can go upstairs to your bedroom and put his fucking jeans on. We found them at the foot of the bed.”

Hannibal didn’t need to tell him a thing, as Jack’s thunderous voice reached him just fine, thank you very much. He scurried up the stairs two at a time, and grimaced when he came into the bedroom to find Jimmy there with Brian. “Will,” Jimmy said with an awkward clearing of his throat. The bedsheets were spread out while they glanced at the stains on them, and Will wished he’d have just lost a toe to frost bite. 

“Jack said I could get dressed,” Will stammered, and Jimmy nodded. 

“These can’t be Dr. Lecter’s,” Jimmy noted, handing Will his worn-out pair of jeans. Will took them, cradling them against his chest.

“Where’s my shirt?” Will asked, and Brian snorted. 

“Where did you throw it last night before you fucked him?” he snarked, and Will’s face flamed. He snatched Hannibal’s red sweater from the bench, and Brian tutted. “That might be evidence.”

“Oh fuck off,” Will replied, making his way to the bathroom to change. “Take it off me before you go, then.”

He changed quickly, snatching a pair of socks from Hannibal’s underwear drawer on the way downstairs. Hannibal’s eyes were appreciative of his appearance in his sweater, and Will rolled his eyes while dropping by his side again. “I couldn’t find my shirt,” Will explained under his breath. “I wanted to get out of there because Jimmy and Brian are… collecting evidence from the fucking bed.”

“Red suits you,” Hannibal said softly, tucking a curl behind his ear. “I wonder what evidence they’re trying to find. It’s hardly illegal that we’ve bedded one another.”

“They’re making a case against me, too,” Will said, swallowing tightly. “If they find anything on you at all, they’re going to make me an accomplice. Evidence of a relationship will cement that.”

“I would never allow that to happen,” Hannibal replied softly. “I’ll tell them I drugged you and took advantage.”

“No, you fucking will _not_ ,” Will sassed, turning to Hannibal with a glare. “I am here because I want to be. I am with you because I want to be. I won’t let you say you… forced me. I won’t allow that.”

“Will,” Hannibal sighed, easing his arm back around his waist while Will tugged the warm socks on his feet. “You don’t have to be taken down with me. You still have a chance at a normal life.”

“I’ve already chosen what I wanted,” Will said forcefully, gripping Hannibal’s chin between his fingers. “I knew the risks. I weighed them, and I still chose you. Let me choose you, Hannibal.”

Hannibal leaned forward to kiss him gently, and Will gripped the nape of his neck to keep him there for a minute. Jack cleared his throat from the archway of the dining room, and Will sighed while pulling away. Jack glared at them, shaking his head, and Will straightened his spine and glared right back.

They stayed for _hours_. Will’s stomach was growling, and each time it made Hannibal turn to him apologetically. As if Will’s hunger was somehow directly his fault. The only time they were allowed to move around was when they needed to use the bathroom, and even then, it was only after evidence had been taken from the downstairs bath. What evidence there could have been in a bathroom, Will had no idea.

It was late in the afternoon before Jack stomped up to them, his hands on his hips while a hard glare was tossed between Hannibal and himself. “No fucking blood on anything. Isn’t that something?” Jack said with a sarcastic twist of his mouth. “Nice basement you have. Hidden and secret so no one steals your Christmas decorations?”

“They’re very priceless to me,” Hannibal replied, raising an eyebrow at Jack in amusement. 

There was an angry knock at the door, and then a flushed Alana stormed into the foyer. “I got to the office this morning, and I hear that you’re conducting a search of Hannibal’s home? Based on evidence that _Will_ submitted?” she yelled. Jack’s eyes widened, and Will shifted awkwardly on the bench beside Hannibal, putting a little distance between them. “He’s been after Hannibal this whole time!” She turned to Will, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Did you forge the evidence, Will? Have you stooped that low?”

Will cleared his throat, glancing at the floor with a shy shake of his head. “While I appreciate your… enthusiasm,” Jack said carefully, drawing her accusing eyes away from Will. “Your disrespectful tone with me is not welcome.”

“Think about this,” she pleaded, pointing her finger at Will sharply. “He’s been after Hannibal for months! _Months_! He’s not right, Jack. Anything he gathered for you has to be questioned, as he simply cannot be trusted!”

“He certainly can’t be,” Jack agreed with a nod, turning a glare on him again. “We arrived just after five this morning. Will was already here.”

“That proves it!” Alana said passionately. “He’s just _here_ , stalking Hannibal’s every move! Doesn’t that give you a clue?”

“Alana,” Hannibal sighed, drawing her compassionate gaze towards him. She eyed the little scrap of distance between himself and Hannibal warily, and Will covered his face in his hands. “Please. Will is not unwell.”

“You’ve always had a soft spot for him,” she said gently. “You’ve always been protective of him to a fault, Hannibal. He’d hang you with all the slack that you give him.”

“He was here in Hannibal’s bed, Alana,” Jack interjected, urging a groan from Will’s mouth.

Will slid his face from his hands at the silence that descended, and her face was clearly shocked. “What?” she asked in a high voice, her eyes darting back and forth between them and Jack.

“They were in bed when we got here,” Jack repeated. “They’ve been… intimately involved. I’d love to know for how long.”

“Two weeks?” Alana said in a small voice. “Just about two weeks. That’s why you ended things with me, isn’t it?”

Hannibal shifted awkwardly, and Will almost snorted at his discomfort. Good. He deserved this for fucking her in the first place. “Yes,” Hannibal replied simply.

“But you hate him?” Alana said slowly, turning to Will with a vibrant blush on her cheeks. Her eyes slid over him, taking in the bruise on his throat. The red sweater that she clearly recognized as Hannibal’s. The dishevelment of his hair. Every little thing she noticed seemed to click something into place for her, and her face crumpled.

“I don’t hate him,” Will said softly, silently wishing the floor would swallow him whole. “The exact opposite, actually.”

He could fucking feel the beam of Hannibal’s smile at that, and he elbowed him hard in his side, earning a little grunt from the other man. Alana watched them warily, a frown marring her mouth. “You… you _love_ him? You’re freaking joking right now.”

“He’s most certainly not,” Hannibal replied, still fucking beaming. 

She shook her head, her long hair falling over her shoulder with the gesture, and Jack cleared his throat. “We didn’t find anything concrete in the house,” he admitted glumly. “However, it would be prudent for you both to not take any trips until we are done processing the evidence we’ve gathered.”

“Of course,” Hannibal assured him politely. “Will and I have nothing to hide.”

“That is surprising,” Jack chuckled humorlessly. “Considering all the two of you have done is hide things from me. I’ll be in touch.”

“I have a class to teach,” Will said softly, and Jack turned another glaring expression at him. 

“Your classes are covered indefinitely,” Jack boomed. “I don’t want to see you, Will. Not until we get this sorted out.”

“I’m… I’m fired?” Will asked, his stomach sinking into his guts. “Are you kidding?”

“Not fired,” Jack said softly, gripping the doorknob in his hand. “Unpaid leave until this is resolved. No need to worry though, right? I’m sure your lover will take care of you. You made this bed, Will. Now you get to lie in it.”

Alana lingered in the foyer for a few minutes after the circus left, and the silence between them was uncomfortable. “Did you love me at all?” she wondered softly, and Will cringed. There was a mountain of hurt rolling off of her, and he wished he weren’t here to feel it. He wished Hannibal had never involved her in the first place.

“No,” Hannibal replied with no fucking finesse whatsoever. Will turned to him with a raised eyebrow, and Hannibal glanced away. “I’ve always loved him.”

“He took evidence from your house,” Alana tried to reason. “He was trying to have you put in jail while… while pretending to love you.”

“He told me,” Hannibal confessed, turning his head to look her in the eye. “I know everything, Alana. There are no secrets between us. Please, Will and I have not yet eaten, and we’ve had a very trying day.”

“I wonder if you’ll get it the next time he tries to kill you,” she retorted. “You two were made for each other.” Her heels clicked against the flooring as she stomped out, slamming the door behind her.

They sat on the bench in silence for a few minutes, each not saying a damned word.

Will… didn’t know if he was furious or not, yet. If he was, it was for no reason. Hannibal hadn’t said anything that wasn’t the truth, yet… he lacked finesse in some things that could’ve maybe used an ounce of compassion. Will wasn’t sure it mattered or not. They wouldn’t be here for that much longer, anyway.

Will stood eventually, stretching his legs while Hannibal watched him with a wary expression on his face. “Are you angry?”

Will turned to him, grimacing slightly at the feel of dried come against his skin. He was tired, filthy, starving, and above all else, not angry. “No,” he said softly, heading towards to kitchen to see if they’d left anything behind. Hannibal followed after him, sitting at the kitchen island while Will rummaged through his refrigerator. “I think you could have said some of the things you said with more finesse. Or… not at all. But…” he sighed, frowning into the empty space of the fridge. “I’m not angry. They left eggs and cheese, pretty much.”

“They took the package of chicken breasts?” Hannibal said with an amused chuckle. “They were in a store package.”

Will shrugged, opening the door wider for Hannibal’s inspection. “No chicken in here. You want an omelet?”

“That sounds perfect,” he said with a sigh. “I have a ciabatta bread, too. Breakfast for dinner, then. Is the package of bacon still in the drawer?”

Will opened the produce drawer, shaking his head. “Nope. No meat at all.”

“That was good bacon, too,” Hannibal lamented with another sigh.

Will cracked a few eggs in a bowl while Hannibal got him a pan, each taking to different tasks to get food on a plate more quickly. Hannibal reached absently for a bread knife in his butcher block, wincing when his fingers met air instead of any knives. “They took all of them?” he said with a huff. “Who murders someone with a bread knife?”

“You have no knives whatsoever,” Will noted after opening his utensils drawer. “Not even a butter knife.”

“Ridiculous,” Hannibal groaned. “I suppose I’ll be shredding this loaf of ciabatta with my fingers.”

“I’m more worried about cheese,” Will chuckled. “Can you shred some for our omelets or no?”

Hannibal checked the cabinet, taking the cheese grater out with a thankful expression on his face. “They didn’t take my grater, at least.”

Will snorted while whipping the eggs. “We’re truly blessed,” he deadpanned.

They had a sad dinner of cheese omelets and shredded ciabatta, but they were both hungry enough that it tasted like heaven. “I’ve got to get home to my dogs,” Will said after they finished eating. “I feel so bad about leaving them for so long.”

Hannibal leaned on the counter, resting his face in his palm. “Of course, beloved.”

“I’ll see you this weekend, maybe?”

“Yes,” Hannibal replied, coming around the counter to cup Will’s jaw with his palm. “I never meant for this to happen. Regardless of Jack’s flippancy on the subject, you can come to me if you need anything at all.”

Will gripped his hips in his hands, tugging him closer so that he stood between his spread knees. “I appreciate that, but I’ve got a bit in savings. I’ll be just fine until we… leave.”

Hannibal hummed while leaning in for a kiss. Their lips met softly, just a hint of the sweet dampness of his mouth before he pulled away. “Alana said some things…”

“Yeah,” Will interjected, licking the flavor of Hannibal from his lips. “It’s fine. Hannibal, what’s in our past is in the past. Let’s move forward, huh?”

Hannibal nodded, pressing another grateful kiss to Will’s mouth.

_____________________________________________________

The rest of the week was very busy for Hannibal, as he had to reschedule all the appointments he was forced to cancel due to Jack’s warrant. A few of his patient’s had caught wind of the investigation against him, and they’d canceled with him indefinitely. His workload was significantly lighter, which worked well considering how much still had to be done before they left.

Will’s passports and documents were expected to be ready Monday or Tuesday, and that gave him plenty of time to arrange transport for all of Will’s dogs. They’d have to be taken soon, as he did not want Will to start giving them away.

He wanted to surprise him with them, but there was no real way to do so. Now that he wasn’t working, he’d definitely notice someone taking all of his dogs away from his house. 

He was just packing up an overnight bag to head to Will’s house for the evening when Jack showed up at his door. Hannibal’s first thought was that he had knives that he’d bought to replace the ones that were taken for evidence, and that he should possibly get one.

He answered the door with a raised eyebrow, waving Jack into his home. “Come to do a second round, or is this a friendly visit?” Hannibal asked with a haughty tip of his jaw.

Jack grimaced, standing just inside the foyer. He looked slightly uncomfortable, and mightily pissed off. “Neither,” he replied with a clearing of his throat. “We found nothing in your home that contained any trace evidence. The blood on the cutting board belonged to Alana, and she informed me that she had cut herself here once while cooking with you. Given the circumstances, I was informed that I should come by and… issue a formal apology.”

Hannibal did his best to maintain an air of offence, but a little smirk stretched his lips regardless. “ _Should_ , but will not, correct?”

“Did you do something to Will?” Jack blurted out. Hannibal could feel the little tendrils of anger rising in him at the question, but he contained the urge to react. “Did you drug him? Hypnotize him? How did you get him to… to cover for you like this?”

Hannibal could feel himself grow very still in an effort to contain the darkness that wanted to lash out with such an accusation. “I would never take advantage of Will in such a way,” Hannibal replied bitterly. “I have not drugged him or anything else untoward. He is here with me because he chooses to be. There is nothing I’ve needed him to cover for me, Jack. He sees me for who I am, now.”

Jack sucked his teeth, glancing away briefly. “If that’s the truth, it’s worse than you… coercing him. It would mean he’s with you by choice, and that he’s more like you than I thought.”

The outrage in Hannibal at that moment felt like a blow to his gut. He’d killed people for far less, but it truly was not an option here. Not if he wanted a life with Will. “You would rather hear that I forced Will to… be with me than hear that he’s truly happy for the first time in his life?” Hannibal asked resentfully. “Therein lies the problem. His well-being and happiness come long after your own needs and wants of him. You coerce him, force him far out of his comfort zones and into dangerous territory in his mind. You push him until he’s standing on the precipice of madness, and you take no consideration for what it does to him. Every time you force him to look, he loses pieces of himself.”

Jack snorted, shaking his head. Hannibal could tell, however, that he’d struck a nerve. “I might make demands on him, but only because I know he can handle it. You… you took advantage of his trust in you. You fostered it, shaped it, molded it, and put him in a mental institution. Of the two of us, Hannibal, the only one who should feel shame for taking advantage of him is you. You claim to love him? Who lets someone with an empathy disorder rot in a mental institution? Do you know the kind of damage his mind soaked up in a place like that? You’ve damaged him, Doctor. Don’t pin it on me.”

The shock of Jack’s words was like a knife to his gut. He stayed silent, maintained his mask, all the while his insides were roiling and pinching with the understanding that Jack… was not wrong. “The Chesapeake Ripper put Will in jail,” Hannibal said eventually, clenching his jaw through the dismissive statement. “Seeing as how I am cleared of suspicion on that front, it may be in your best interest to redirect your investigation to someone else.”

“Right,” Jack said sarcastically. “Whatever helps you to sleep at night.”

Hannibal’s throat constricted with a tight swallow, and he glanced away briefly. “Thank you for stopping by, but I was just leaving.”

Jack glanced at his shoulder bag on the bench, shaking his head again. “Going to Will’s house?”

“Not that it’s your business, but yes,” Hannibal acknowledged through clenched teeth. 

“I’ll be calling him when I leave here to tell him he can come back to the academy on Monday,” Jack said while turning his body away, reaching for the doorknob. He paused, glancing back at Hannibal with a tilt of his head. “Do you remember the day you met him?”

Hannibal gave him a curt nod, crossing his arms across his chest. “Of course.”

“He was a good man,” Jack said, his eyes far away while a small smile split his lips. “He didn’t trust a soul, though. Quiet. Shy. He never let anyone get close... until you. He trusted you implicitly, and I… I was so thrilled that someone had cracked the shell that was Will Graham that I disregarded the warning signs. You didn’t just crack him, Doctor. You _shattered_ him. He might be able to forgive you for everything you’ve done, but… I think you know that he shouldn’t. He might still live and breathe, but you’ve killed him. In your own way, you’ve killed him.”

The crushing guilt he was feeling in that moment made him steel his spine, and he fixed his eyes on Jack’s own pointedly. “You can go now, Jack.”

Jack gave him a curt nod before leaving his house. 

Once he was gone, Hannibal reflected on the things he’d said, finding no real fault in any of it. He did what he did to get Will out of his life, as he had never experienced feeling something so consuming for another person. It was distracting. It was invasive. Will took up every corner of his mind palace, his thoughts. He could not do a single thing without hearing his little chuckle that vibrated his chest. The warmth of his rare smiles that seemed to light up the darkest corners of Hannibal’s mind. The way Will was able to follow along with every single metaphor he used, their verbal sparring unlike anyone he’d ever spoken to before him.

He was… unexpected. Hannibal could not kill him, so he merely… put him somewhere out of sight. It did not work. The call to see him had been unignorable, and every visit to the institution carved out a piece of Hannibal’s resolve. Will’s skin was gray, there. His eyes held the hint of madness he was immersed in, his brilliant mind soaking up his surroundings like a sponge. The light in his eyes had receded, the warmth of his smile dissipating to a hard line. Hannibal did that to him, all because he did not want to love him.

He truly did not deserve him. Not in the least.

He picked up his shoulder bag, heading upstairs to his bedroom to put his clothes away. Love should be selfless, he reasoned. He’d let Will go.

___________________________________________________

Will waited at his house, glancing down at his phone with a sigh. It was just after eight, and Hannibal was supposed to come by around five. Tardiness was… rude, especially without a phone call to explain it. He called Hannibal’s cell again, wincing as it was sent straight to voicemail.

His imagination conjured a car accident, Hannibal dying by the side of the road somewhere between his house and Will’s own. The vivid picture his mind painted urged him to feed his dogs and get them outside quickly before leaving his house.

There were no accidents along his way to Hannibal’s house, nor any signs that one had recently happened. He wondered idly if maybe they’d missed something while cleaning Hannibal’s house. What if they found something with the search warrant? What if Hannibal had been arrested while Will was sitting around, diddling with his phone?

When he pulled up in front of his house it was almost ten, and Will knocked on his door before using his key to let himself in. The house was dark aside from a soft glow from the study. Will ditched his coat and his shoes in the foyer, padding to the light hesitantly.

Hannibal was sprawled on the sofa with a half-empty bottle of scotch on the end table, a crystal tumbler full of it clutched in his long fingers. His eyes were pitch black, his mouth pinched in a tight line. Will swallowed, glancing around the room carefully for a clue as to what this was about, but finding nothing. 

“You… uh, bailed on me tonight,” Will said slowly, taking the tumbler from his hand because it was fairly clear he’d had just about enough booze for tonight. Hannibal’s eyes flashed at him warningly, but he didn’t do anything about it. “What happened?”

Hannibal licked his lips, glancing away from Will towards the fireplace. “Nothing happened. I’m reconsidering the decisions I’ve made,” he replied. His words slurred just a bit, and Will tried to think if he’d ever seen Hannibal drunk before this.

“Regarding what?” Will asked, coming around the coffee table to sit carefully by Hannibal’s side. 

“ _You_ ,” Hannibal said accusingly, and Will’s stomach dropped out. 

“Me,” he said warily. “What about me?”

“How is it that you’ve forgiven me for putting you in a mental institution for months?” he asked, turning his head to take in Will’s face. He reached absently for his glass in Will’s hand, but Will pulled it away and set it on the far end of the coffee table. 

“How do you forgive me for this,” Will wondered, reaching forward to stroke the jagged edge of scarring on his wrist that peeked out from his rolled-up shirt sleeves. 

“You did this because I had hurt you. I abandoned you, and you believed I had killed our daughter,” Hannibal replied, touching the scar that Will had just run his fingertips against. “I did what I did because for all my knowledge and planning, I could not predict you. You consumed me alive, Will. I could not even get through an hour without picturing your face, conjuring your smile. I hated you for it.”

“A slight overreaction to falling in love, probably,” Will chuckled. Hannibal sat up; his hand lightning quick as it snatched Will’s jaw to turn his face towards his own. 

“You make a joke,” Hannibal said indignantly, his eyes shifting over Will’s face in disbelief. “Now, of all times.”

“It wasn’t a joke, actually,” Will retorted. “You and I… we’re not great with intimacy, clearly. What you did sucked, and it was… horrible for me. I was put in a cell next to a guy that was a serial masturbator. He just… pulled his pud every goddam chance he got. He’d rant and rave constantly, the guards had to watch themselves because he liked to throw his jizz at people. The guy down the hall was certain he saw God. Certain of it. He thought God told him to kill people, and that being where he was prevented him from following God’s word. It wasn’t easy, there. I had my stream, though. I’d retreat when things got… heavy.”

Hannibal’s face crumpled at that, and he turned away from Will again. “I did that to you.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed softly, reaching over to lace their fingers together. “You did. I’m still here, though, aren’t I?”

The silence between them stretched, and Hannibal sighed. “ _Why_?”

“Because I can forgive you, even if you can’t forgive yourself,” he said softly. “You abandoned me tonight because you’re feeling guilty?”

Hannibal reached for his glass again, and Will gripped his wrist with a sigh, tugging it into his lap to lace their fingers together. “When I look at you sometimes,” Hannibal began, his thumb tracing the skin of Will’s wrist gently. “All I want is to crush you close. I want to shackle you to myself and prevent you from living a moment of life away from me entirely. I want to split my own chest and put you there, keep you with me, share every breath. That’s not love, is it? If you love something truly, you should set it free.”

Will felt a faint stirring of alarm at the confession, and he fought to keep his expression neutral. “As… alarming as what you’ve just said is… uh,” Will swallowed, glancing carefully back to their entwined hands. “You want to do those things, but you don’t, right? It’s… intense, I know. Believe it or not, I feel the same way about you. The fact that you don’t do that kind of shows that you love me, right? If I wanted to leave, be away from you… you’d let me go. I know you would, even though it would hurt you to do it.”

“If you wanted away from me, I’d do everything in my power to respect that,” Hannibal agreed. “I wouldn’t trust myself to honor your request, so I’d make it impossible for myself to search you out.”

Will glanced up in surprise at that, gripping his fingers tighter between his own. “How would you do that?”

“I’d surrender,” Hannibal replied immediately. “I’d kill someone else and leave evidence behind. Then I would surrender. I’d be far, far, from your reach.”

“Jesus,” Will sighed. “Given this some thought, haven’t you? Don’t do that, please.”

“It’s a last resort,” Hannibal admitted with a shrug. “Should you ever wish to be away from me. You should wish it, Will.”

“Thanks for the offer,” Will replied dryly, shifting on the sofa to straddle Hannibal’s thighs. Hannibal adjusted himself a bit, making room for Will’s sudden body weight over him while Will settled himself out on his lap. “I don’t wish to be away from you, Hannibal. You don’t get to unanimously decide what happens between us. If we’re equals, then I get a say, too. What happened today?”

“Jack came to see me,” Hannibal admitted softly, his fingers tracing along Will’s sides to rest on his hips. “He told me that they found no evidence in my home.”

“That’s good,” Will said with a little smile, leaning in slowly to press his lips against Hannibal’s cheekbone. Hannibal’s eyes closed the moment his lips touched his skin, and Will rested his forehead against his. “What else?”

“Jack reminded me of how sweet and trusting you were in the beginning,” he relented. “How I was the only person he’d ever seen you openly trust and rely on… how forcefully I burned that bridge between us.”

“You didn’t burn it,” Will assured him, pressing a kiss to his other cheekbone. He could smell the scotch on his tongue as well as the spicy cologne he used. He smelled mouthwatering, but he contained the urge to maul him as right now wasn’t the time. “You kind of… took a wrecking ball to it, but we’re repairing it. I can’t believe he’d come at you about breaking me at all, considering the shit he’s put me through.”

“I said that,” Hannibal admitted while trailing his fingers up, weaving them into his hair. Always his hair. “He merely pointed out that what I had done to you was worse.”

“Maybe,” Will relented with a shrug. “But I tried to have you killed, so we’re even. Let it go, Hannibal. I’m right here. Not because I’m shackled to you or because you’re forcing me to be, but because I want to be. I’m leaving my life behind for you because I want to. I _forgive_ you, Hannibal.”

Hannibal made a low noise in the back of his throat, his eyes flicking up to Will’s face with a sheen of tears on them. “I forgive you,” he repeated, leaning forward to press his lips to his face, his forehead, his chin. “I forgive you.”

His arms came around Will’s waist, tugging him against his body in a crushing hug that Will didn’t struggle against in the least. He wrapped his own arms around Hannibal’s neck, pressing his face against his hair to breathe him in while Hannibal held him so tightly it felt like his ribs were about to crack. “I won’t hurt you again,” Hannibal promised while squeezing the life out of him. Will tried not to snort, as he knew it wouldn’t be appreciated in this moment.

“You abandoned me tonight,” Will said against his hair, pressing a kiss there despite his annoyance. “Again. I sat around my house waiting for you to come for dinner, and you… ditched me for a bottle of scotch. Do something like that again and I’ll slap the shit out of you.”

Hannibal hummed against his throat, pressing a kiss directly over his Adam’s apple. “I swear it, Will. If I ever make you feel… abandoned again, you may slap me till your heart’s content.”

Will pulled away enough to press his lips to Hannibal’s own, sliding his tongue into his mouth to taste him. “What makes my heart content is you showing up. Show up for me, Hannibal. That’s all I want.”

“You’re so beautiful,” Hannibal said wondrously. Will sighed at the sheen on his eyes as he said it, wondering if it was booze or emotions that put it there. Perhaps the combination of both. “So, so, beautiful.”

Will rolled his eyes, “Right. It’s time for bed, I think.”

“Mm,” Hannibal agreed, leaning forward to lick at Will’s throat. “Yes, bed.”

“Hannibal,” Will said with an exasperated sigh, tipping away from his mouth a bit. “To sleep, not… not-”

“Not to make love to me?” Hannibal asked in a soft whimper, and Will could feel his resolve crumbling in the wind.

“Would you even remember it?” Will asked while Hannibal suckled against his Adam’s apple with lips and tongue. 

“Of course, I’ll remember it,” Hannibal assured him between sloppy kisses to his neck. “My beloved.”

“Let’s go upstairs, darlin’,” he drawled, tugging his fingers through Hannibal’s hair one more time before climbing from his lap. Hannibal tipped forward awkwardly as he got up from the couch, catching himself on the coffee table so as not to break his own face. Will sighed, taking his forearm to help him up the stairs.

He didn’t want to call an ambulance because Hannibal rolled down them in a drunken stupor.

Hannibal being Hannibal, he fought against Will’s help the entire way. “I am not an invalid,” he seethed while swaying on the steps dangerously. “Will.”

His name again, this time meant to convey that Hannibal was feeling vulnerable. “We’ve all been here,” he decided to say. “One time I got drunk enough that I had to climb up my porch steps on my hands and knees. You have me here to spare you that indignity.”

“I’m nowhere near drunk enough for that,” Hannibal stammered. One hand held onto Will, while the other gripped the bannister like a lifeline. “It’s just been… a very long while since I’ve been drunk at all.”

Once in the bedroom, Will stripped him of his button down shirt and slacks, easing him down on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks. He flopped back against the sheets like a dead fish, and Will bit his lip to keep from laughing. 

Will went to the bathroom to get the glass by the sink, filling it with cold water before returning to the bed. He slapped Hannibal’s thigh to get his attention, helping him to sit up enough to take it. “Drink all of this. Otherwise, you’ll be in a world of hurt tomorrow.”

Hannibal took it gratefully, sipping the water as though it were a glass of wine. His nose wrinkled, and he glanced up at Will with pursed lips. “Faucet water?”

“Christ,” Will sighed. “Of course, you’d be a water sommelier. Drink it. Water is water.”

“I have bottles of Veen in the refrigerator,” Hannibal replied drowsily, still sipping his shitty water with a grimace. “Imported from Finland. Try that water and then sass me over drinking this filth. Tell me you don’t give your dogs faucet water to drink.”

Will chuckled, easing his fingers into Hannibal’s soft hair to push it back from his forehead. “They drink it because I drink it. I can’t afford to buy bottled water that costs fifty bucks a bottle.”

“ _Twenty-five_ ,” Hannibal said indignantly. “And you feel that way because you’ve not tasted it.”

“Sure,” Will said dismissively, taking his empty glass from his hand to place it on the nightstand. “You have to use the bathroom before bed?”

“No,” Hannibal sighed, reaching forward to stroke his fingers against Will’s stomach. “I want to put my mouth on you, however.”

“Alright, Casanova,” Will chuckled. He stripped out from his old Henley and jeans, and he contained the swell of pride that accompanied the feel of Hannibal’s eyes on him as he ditched his clothes. He decided to take his underwear off too, as Hannibal didn’t exactly seem like he needed additional obstacles tonight. “Let me get yours off too,” he said, swatting away Hannibal’s hands that were reaching for him now that he was naked.

Will reached for the tiny underwear, easing them down his legs. Hannibal shuffled to the middle of the bed, flopping back against the sheets while Will climbed over to him to straddle his thighs. Hannibal hummed at the skin contact, running his palms up Will’s thighs. “Do you find me interesting, now?”

Will had leaned forward to lick at a nipple, pausing at the question with an arched eyebrow. “I found you interesting that morning, Hannibal,” he admitted. He shifted his body upwards a bit so he could press a kiss to his jawline, and Hannibal laced his fingers through his curls appreciatively. “You brought me breakfast while I was in my underwear, and you called me a mongoose. You were… more than interesting. I just… knew that if I said that your ego would be even bigger than it was. You were… impossible, right from the start.”

“I was shocked when you opened the door in such a state of undress,” Hannibal admitted with a low chuckle. The vibration of it rumbled right through Will’s own chest that rested against his. “I couldn’t believe that’s what you looked like right out of bed. Impossibly beautiful, your face framed by wild curls. The scent of sleep still clung to your skin, and I wanted to strip the tee shirt from you and eat you alive.”

“Do you know how alarming it is when you say things like that?” Will asked with a huff of laughter, pressing another kiss to his cheekbone this time. “I remember you smelled really good. Like you had just put on that aftershave you used and came straight to see me. It smells so good, by the way. Kind of spicy and woodsy. Your office smells like that, too.”

“I had just gotten out of the shower before I came to see you that morning,” Hannibal recalled absently, trailing his fingers down Will’s spine, and drawing a shiver from him. “Were you attracted to me, then?”

“Not really?” Will said hesitantly. “I… I learned a long time ago that I might be demisexual? I don’t ever look at someone and notice that they’re… attractive, or whatever. Never. I’ve never gone to a bar for a one-night stand, as no one has ever appealed to me in that short of a time. I have to know a person, first. Then… _then_ I can see them. I think the first time I realized I was attracted to you was with Devon Silvestri. In the back of the ambulance? You… you had your hand inside of someone’s body, and… I can’t even tell you how beautiful you were in that moment.”

“Demisexual,” Hannibal repeated, slurring a bit. “That explains a few things.”

Will sighed, shifting his weight a bit so their erections dragged together blissfully. “Like what?”

“Like your attraction to Alana,” he replied, arching an eyebrow. “She was, at one point, the closest thing you had to a friend.”

“She was,” Will agreed while nipping at the sharp edge of Hannibal’s jawline. “She… she was kind to me when others were not. I am not so blind that I can’t see that she’s… beautiful. I get why you… with her.”

“I did what I did with her because I was angry that you tried to have me killed,” Hannibal confessed. His fingers wove into Will’s hair while he spread his thighs, wrapping them around Will’s waist. “I thought you loved her, and I wanted to hurt you by taking her away. I also reveled in the idea that you’d worry for her every moment she was with me. It never occurred to me that you were jealous of her, not me.”

“You’re a mess, you know that?” Will asked with a laugh. “Do you really not see her as beautiful? She sure thinks the world of you.”

“She is a very beautiful woman,” Hannibal agreed. “But she’s leagues away from how beautiful you are. Do you still desire her?”

“No,” Will said honestly, thrusting himself gently against Hannibal’s hot, silky, cock. “I can appreciate that she’s beautiful, inside and out, but I don’t… want her. All my desire is decidedly focused on you, Hannibal.”

Hannibal’s little moan of approval was like music to Will’s ears while he rocked his hips against him. “That’s all I’ve wanted,” he admitted while grinding up against Will wantonly. “You’re all I’ve wanted.”

“When you didn’t show up tonight, I thought you had died in a car accident,” Will admitted softly, leaning forward to kiss Hannibal’s jaw. “You’ve never… outright ditched me, so I imagined you’d died, or been arrested. I was about to have a panic attack, Hannibal. Please. Don’t do this to me again.”

Hannibal’s eyes opened, their gaze penetrating Will’s face to the point where he blushed from the intensity of it. “I’m sorry, beloved. I won’t.”

Will licked into his mouth briefly, and Hannibal’s fingers wove into his hair to keep him close for a moment. “Good,” Will said breathily, grinding his hips forward again. “You’re much more pleasant when you’re drunk.”

“M’not drunk,” Hannibal argued with a distinguished slur, pulling a laugh from Will that wasn’t even slightly forced. “I can handle my liquor. I don’t,” he moaned as their cocks ground together, ”I don’t get _drunk_.”

“When’s my birthday?” Will asked with a huff of laughter while nuzzling his throat. 

Hannibal’s eyes blinked back open, a little purse to his mouth. “I honestly don’t know the answer to that.”

Will gripped their erections in his palm, jerking them both gently to ease the mounting tension between them. “November eleventh,” he said softly. How ridiculous was it that they’d be enamored like this without knowing things like this about one another. “I’ll be thirty-nine this year.”

“I’ll remember that,” Hannibal said with conviction in his voice. “Do you know my birthday?”

“I don’t,” Will replied honestly, working the heads of their cocks in his fist. They both writhed from his attentions, and this was, without a doubt, the strangest sexual encounter of Will’s life. 

“August seventh,” he said while arching his back, thrusting his cock through the circle of Will’s fingers. “I’ll be forty-nine this year.”

“You said I make you feel your age,” Will sighed, and Hannibal pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his throat. “You’re not old, Hannibal.”

“Older than you,” Hannibal argued, his lips brushing the soft skin of his collarbone. “Are you making love to me, or is _this_ what we’re doing?”

“I feel weird taking advantage of you,” Will said with a laugh. “I realize you’ve stuffed Abigail’s ear down my throat while I was seizing, but… you’re in no place to consent to me right now.”

“I want you inside of me,” Hannibal said softly, one of his hands gripping Will’s hip while the other wove through his hair. “I love it, Will. I love feeling like we’re one living thing, moving together. You’re beautiful, and you’ve had my consent since day one.”

Will let go of their cocks, biting his lip while looking down at the decidedly drunk man beneath him. “If you wake up tomorrow and don’t remember this, I’ll be livid with you.”

“What else is new?” Hannibal thrust his hips upwards, looking for relief that Will wasn’t giving him. “Will,” he said, this time in a pleading tone that implied he wanted Will to touch him.

Will relented while reaching over for the fancy lube on the nightstand, slicking his fingers up a bit before pressing them against Hannibal’s fluttering entrance. The muscle gripped his finger as he slid it inside, clenching down on the knuckle eagerly. “You know, I can tell what you’re feeling at any given moment, just by how you say my name.”

“ _Will_ ,” he sighed, this time in exasperation. “It’s a single syllable.”

“It is,” Will agreed, easing another finger inside the pulsing heat of his body. “Yet I can tell everything by just how you say it. You… you use my name a lot.”

“Never in all my days have I met anyone with a more fitting name than you,” he replied with a tiny moan as Will struck his fingers against the spot inside. His muscles tensed under him, his long legs gripping Will’s hips approvingly. “William comes from old Germanic origins, translating to ‘determined protector,’” Hannibal explained, arching his back a bit while Will stretched him with another finger. “The name, translated literally, means ‘strong helmet’.”

“My name isn’t William,” he admitted with a little laugh. “Just Will. My parents… named me the nickname. I guess I should just be glad they didn’t name me Bill. My middle name is my Dad’s first name, Beau.”

Hannibal’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open briefly before a guttural laugh bellowed out between them. Will had never heard Hannibal laugh like that. Freely and openly, warm and bright. His body convulsed under Will’s own, and he reached between them to swipe the tears from his eyes. “Bill Beau. I would have really enjoyed that.”

“Will Beau isn’t better,” he chuckled. Hannibal was still snickering under him, a beautiful pink flush on his face. Will had never seen him more beautiful. 

Hannibal finished wiping the tears from his eyes, his body still vibrating with a laugh. He reached up to cup Will’s jaw, his eyes bright and reverent on Will’s own. “Your name means determination and beauty. How unbelievably fitting.”

“It amazes me that you can still talk while I’m fingering you like this,” Will said tartly while drumming his fingertips over his prostate pointedly. Hannibal’s muscles locked up, twitching with each beat of his fingers against it. His head fell back, his mouth opening in a shock of pleasure. “That’s better,” Will noted.

“I’d like to be over you,” Hannibal gritted out, his voice wavering with each movement of Will’s fingers inside of him. “If you don’t mind.”

The thought alone was damn near close to sending Will over the edge. He wanted to watch Hannibal take his pleasure that way, and he nodded eagerly. “Fuck,” he breathed, still nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I want that.”

Hannibal immediately rolled them over, the action withdrawing Will’s fingers from his body. He was clearly a bit inebriated, as he needed the mattress to keep himself upright while he straddled Will’s waist. “Will,” he sighed, this time in impatience while he reached under himself to align Will’s cock with his entrance. 

“Easy,” Will pleaded, gripping his strong hips in his hands. “You’re drunk and I don’t want you tearing yourself.”

Hannibal sank down over him with a guttural little moan, swiveling his hips appreciatively with each inch of Will that he took inside of himself. “Not _drunk_ ,” he argued with a haughty little tilt to his jaw.

Will wanted to say something snark, but… he couldn’t think of a damned thing with the heat and constriction pulsing around him. His body was shockingly tight, gripping Will like a fist as he slid down over him. His ass settled out against Will’s hipbones, and Hannibal shivered over him, acclimating a bit to the intrusion. 

His hips rocked experimentally over Will’s own, each movement pulling Will’s cock deeper inside of Hannibal’s body. Will tried to focus on the beautiful man over him, but he was having trouble with that. There was a little sheen of sweat over Hannibal’s body, making his skin appear golden. Each muscle was highlighted beautifully as a result, his abdominal muscles contracting with each movement of his slender waist.

His eyes looked like amber in the low light from the fireplace, his pupils blown wide while he rocked over Will’s body. “Do you like what you see?” Hannibal wondered. It wasn’t asked in a vain way. Hannibal was… genuinely curious. It was unfathomable to Will that he wouldn’t know how beautiful he was.

“You’re stunning,” Will said softly while trailing his fingers over the hard lines of his chest, then down to the slight, soft, swell of his stomach. “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful.”

____________________________________________

Hannibal was possibly slightly more inebriated than he initially believed, but he was… certain he was still in command of himself. He can’t specifically recall any event in his life where he turned to alcohol to quell his guilt, but Will Graham consistently proved himself to be the exception. In _all_ things, he was the exception.

He had intended to let Will go. He had intended to insult him and hurt him just enough to force him from his life, pushing him away from Hannibal’s orbit once and for all. Once Will was in front of him, though, all his resolve crumbled to ash. 

Sitting on the couch in the study, Will looked… concerned. The last time he’d seen Will with an expression like that was when he came to his office after Tobias Budge tried to kill him. While he appreciated Will’s attention in that way, he couldn’t do this to him again. Will demanded that he show up for him from now on, and that was what Hannibal planned to do.

For the rest of his life, he’d show up for Will. Hell, or high water, he’d show up.

He rocked over him, looking down into fathomless, ocean eyes. His curls were in a state of wild disarray on the pillow, his soft, pink, mouth glistening appealingly. Hannibal wanted to taste those lips, so he leaned forward, sucking his bottom lip between his own. He glided his tongue across the plump flesh of it, biting down gently to appreciate the fullness of it. Will moaned beneath him, sliding his fingertips along Hannibal’s jawline. 

Hannibal picked up his pace while licking into his mouth, savoring the sweetness there as well as the softness of his tongue. He was truly a beautiful man, inside and out. Rocking back on his knees, he was able to take Will deeper within himself, branding his insides with the heat of Will’s cock. He was not humoring Will when he told him that he loved this. Feeling his beloved move inside of him was tantamount to receiving the eucharist. Taking the one he revered within his own body, removing all barriers between them with each shift of his hips. He did not mind being on his knees. Not when he worshiped at the altar of Will Graham. 

His mate went up on an elbow, gripping him at the nape of his neck to drag him down for a deep kiss. Hannibal wanted to press him back to the mattress and grind on him for hours, but that was not his beloved’s way. He was a demanding creature who knew precisely what he wanted, and Hannibal would allow him to take from him as he pleased.

His fingers went tight in Hannibal’s hair, gripping the strands to tug his face up. “Touch yourself,” he demanded, his hot breath ghosting across Hannibal’s face. “I want to watch you touch yourself.”

Hannibal whimpered at that, bouncing on him a little more aggressively. His cock stretched Hannibal deliciously, the head slamming his prostate perfectly. He couldn’t manage a verbal response, so he nodded while clenching around Will’s girth.

The action scraped a harsh sob from Will’s throat, and he flopped back to the pillows, gripping Hannibal’s hips. Hannibal sat back on his haunches, drawing Will’s cock impossibly deep inside of himself, then gripped his own neglected erection in his hand.

Will’s eyes watched him ravenously, his plush lips parted. Hannibal jerked himself in time with each lift and drop of his hips, the pleasure of it exquisitely perfect. “Christ, Hannibal,” Will moaned. Hannibal felt the pad of Will’s thumb brush the head of his cock, and he watched as Will licked his precum from his finger, licking his lips lewdly. 

“Will,” Hannibal said desperately, his voice dark and gravelly as he fought off the riptide urge to come from the sight of it. He gripped Will’s chest in his clenching palm, riding him so vigorously the headboard slammed against the wall with each thrust of his hips. Will’s spine arched from the bed, a guttural little cry escaping his mouth while he came deep inside of Hannibal’s body. 

The feel of him hot and pulsing inside, coupled with the euphoric expression on his face as he toppled over the edge was all the motivation Hannibal needed. He gripped his cock, jerking himself quickly while riding Will into oblivion. His orgasm crashed over him, his vision going white while sound muted out, his every sense focused entirely on Will alone.

By the time he cracked his eyes open, his face was tucked against the soft skin of Will’s throat, each of their hearts pounding in frantic unison while they regained their breath. “Well,” Will said offhandedly while trailing his fingertips down Hannibal’s back. “We just keep getting better at this.”

Hannibal hummed in agreement, latching his mouth onto the soft skin pressed against his lips. Will groaned while Hannibal sucked the skin of his neck, savoring the salty taste of his mate against his tongue. The skin grew hot under his tongue, and Hannibal pulled away to appreciate the vibrant bruise blooming under his skin. “I _may_ be inebriated, I think.”

“You think,” Will replied, his voice a martyred sigh. “You bruised me again, didn’t you?”

“Perhaps,” Hannibal admitted. He tipped his weight to the side, settling out against Will’s shoulder. Will’s arms immediately wrapped around him, protective and sweet. “Your throat is quite bruised, regardless. What’s one more, really?”

“It’ll be bruised till I die with that attitude,” Will sighed. “Are we still leaving Saturday?”

Hannibal blinked his heavy eyes open while Will twisted his hair in his fingers absently. “Do you think it’s wise to go now?”

“You’ve been cleared,” Will replied. “It will look… suspicious. There’s nothing they can do about it, though.”

“Then we are still leaving. I meant to surprise you, but I feel it’s pertinent to tell you not to give away a single dog. I’ve arranged transport for all of them.”

Will sat up, startling Hannibal awake with the abrupt movement. “You… we’re taking _all_ of them?”

“I don’t want you to give up more than you should,” Hannibal admitted. “You love them, and you love me. They go where we go, Will.”

There was a tiny wrinkle of Will’s eyebrow before he was smothered in Will’s embrace, a few wet kisses being pressed to his cheeks. Hannibal chuckled, easing his arm around Will’s middle to hold him close. “Thank you. Jesus, I didn’t think I’d get to keep them.”

“ _Aieshiteru_ ,” Hannibal said softly, pressing kisses into Will’s curls. He felt a huff of breath against his ear, and Will gripped him tighter. 

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this! 
> 
> It may take some time, as this chapter took some time. My God-mother passed away very unexpectedly, and... it's been a very difficult time for my family. Writing smut... eh. It doesn't motivate me just yet. Thank you for your patience with the next chapter. I want it to be perfect, and I need to be in the right headspace for it.
> 
> I've fallen behind on responding to comments, as I've been grieving. Please, just know, that I read each one, and I appreciate every single kind word you guys leave me. I adore you all! <333


	7. Chapter 7

When Hannibal had told him that there was a stream by the house in Spain, he’d never imagined it would be like this.

The stream, at one point in Will’s life, could have been the most beautiful thing Will had ever seen. It cut through the back of their property, weaving through the eastern side of it towards the cliffside. The waterfall wasn’t massive, possibly twenty feet at best, but it pooled in a waist-deep pond surrounded by smooth rock and tropical plant life. The water was crystal clear, their private little slice of heaven Will’s favorite place on earth.

The soft moan from Hannibal pulled him back into the moment. Hannibal was sprawled across a towel, his legs dangling from the rock to rest on either side of Will’s body where he stood in the waist-deep water. Will gripped his hips, sliding his body closer so Hannibal’s cock could glide down his throat more easily.

The waterfall was lovely, but Hannibal was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Late afternoon sunlight bounced from the wet rock around them, casting the entire cove in a shimmery golden light. Hannibal’s skin had grown impossibly more bronzed in their time here, his muscles glistening with sweat and water from his recent swim.

Will slid down his cock slowly, taking him in with careful consideration. Hannibal was… big. He’d never tried to fit him entirely in his mouth before, but he was determined. He took a breath through his nose, sliding down the length of him slowly while watching the muscles of Hannibal’s abdomen twitch. His eyes were amber as they watched Will taking him in his mouth. 

The head of Hannibal’s cock cut off his air supply, so he eased back, took a breath, and pressed on. His mouth was stretched uncomfortably, his eyes watering slightly with the intrusion of Hannibal’s cock down his throat. Finally. Finally, his nose brushed the soft skin of Hannibal’s pelvis where he bobbed gently.

Hannibal’s moan sounded as though he was being gutted. It echoed through the rocky cove around them, bouncing back to Will’s ears like an opera theater. Will needed to breathe, so he eased back slowly, taking in sharp breaths through his nose before slowly sucking him back down his throat again. 

“Will,” Hannibal gasped, and Will knew he was desperately trying not to thrust. If Hannibal thrusted while he was buried in Will’s throat like this, he’d likely choke. To give Hannibal some perspective, he laced their fingers by Hannibal’s hip and brought them to his throat, allowing him to feel how deeply he was buried there.

Hannibal let out a stuttered, wrecked, little sound, and Will hummed around him while easing back again so he could breathe. He kept a similar pace until his throat felt far too raw to continue like this before he pulled back entirely, suckling the head while swirling his tongue around it to collect the flavor of him on his tongue.

Will let his cock go completely, sliding his fingers up the long expanse of Hannibal’s legs around him. “I want you to fuck me,” he said lowly. His voice was shattered glass, gravelly and fucked out by Hannibal’s cock.

The sound of Will’s voice like that caused a shiver through Hannibal’s body, even though it was at least eighty degrees. Hannibal licked his dry lips, his face flushed with pleasure. “We didn’t bring anything to ease the way, beloved.”

“You’ve got your bacon grease,” Will said with a chuckle while stroking his cock so slowly that Hannibal thrust between the loose circle of his fingers. Will called Hannibal’s tanning oil ‘bacon grease’ because it had zero SPF in it. It was just… greasy and smelled of coconuts. When Hannibal greased himself with it, he looked like he was ready for a dip in a cast iron skillet. He wished his stubborn man would use something with at least some SPF, but Hannibal… he did what he wanted. In all things, he did as he pleased.

Hannibal’s eyebrow arched as though considering it, glancing at the little brown jar curiously. It was waterproof. Something Will would need to wash out of himself later on when they got back to the house, but… with the way his own cock was pulsing, it would be worth the clean-up.

Hannibal sat up, stretching his spine beautifully to relieve the ache of laying out on a rock for the better part of an hour. He stood up, snatching the jar of tanning oil from the rock before joining Will in the wade pool. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s neck, tugging his plump upper lip into his mouth while wrapping his legs around Hannibal’s waist. The water held him up, but even if it didn’t, he knew Hannibal could carry him. 

He licked into Hannibal’s mouth while he thought of that specific encounter, a little moan escaping his throat at the recollection. When they’d first arrived in Spain, Will had gone out to their poolside patio to do some reading. Hannibal was busy in the house, arranging his kitchen to his liking, so Will glanced around, realized how private their backyard was, and then stripped naked to lay out in the sun. 

Hannibal must have noticed him at some point because he stalked outside, jar of expensive ass grease in hand, and pounced.

They hadn’t even made it back inside the house. Hannibal picked him up, pressed his back against the outside wall of their home, and fucked him senseless. Will’s knees were over his forearms, and Will couldn’t do a goddam thing aside from being speared open by Hannibal’s cock while he fucked up into him with abandon.

Will moaned again, licking into Hannibal’s mouth more vigorously and Hannibal chuckled while pulling away. “What are you thinking of?”

“That time you fucked me against the wall by the pool,” Will admitted breathily, rocking his hips against Hannibal’s cock desperately. “It was so fucking hot. I didn’t know you had it in you to behave like that. Caveman.”

Hannibal hummed while reaching around Will’s hips to glide his greased-up fingers against his rim. “I was putting away pots and pans in the kitchen, and I look out the window to see you… naked and beautiful, sprawled on the chaise lounge like a lazy God. The sunlight bounced off your pale skin as if you were glowing. It wasn’t a conscious decision to go outside, I assure you.”

Will writhed while Hannibal sunk two fingers inside of him, latching onto him with arms and legs like a koala. “We’ve been… _busy_ since we arrived,” Will laughed. It was true, too. They had so many things to work out between them, and yet… they were in full-blown honeymoon phase. If anyone came into their home with a blacklight, they’d think the house was used as a brothel.

They’d both lost a bit of their winter weight from Baltimore since getting here, as fucking and eating fresh fruits seemed to be their highest priority at the moment.

Not that Will was complaining.

If his dogs could verbalize their concerns, they might have something to say about the shit they’d seen in the last two months, though.

Will lost his train of thought when Hannibal’s fingers brushed his prostate, drumming against the nerve with fluttering fingertips. “Oh fuck,” Will moaned, turning his face against Hannibal’s neck to bite at the expanse of his throat. Hannibal hissed while Will sucked the skin between his teeth, clamping down enough to bruise. 

Hannibal shifted his weight in his arms, nudging his erection against Will’s loosened rim. The tanning oil worked well in the water, as Hannibal slid inside of Will with hardly any drag. “Remember the first time we came here?” Hannibal asked, his voice low and sultry against Will’s ear. 

Will nodded, tipping his face towards Hannibal’s shoulder to press a kiss on his golden skin. “I don’t have dementia, so yes.”

“Will,” Hannibal sighed, this time in exasperation. He thrust his hips gently, and Will leaned back to suckle at his jawline. “You told me we’d never engage in intimacy here, as you weren’t into voyeurism.”

“I’m still not,” Will said tartly, leveraging his body weight a bit so he could take Hannibal’s cock deeper inside of himself. “I’ve realized that there’s no one around, though. Our house is in the boonies.”

Hannibal hummed while thrusting up into Will’s pliant body, causing a pulse of heat to flare through Will’s limbs. This was nice, but Will wanted more than what he was getting. He wanted some leverage to take as he pleased, and this arrangement made it impossible.

He wiggled a bit, and Hannibal struggled to hold onto him because his hands were still slicked with tanning oil. “Why are you wiggling like a fish?” he asked with a grunt.

“I want my feet on the ground,” Will said with a laugh. Hannibal reluctantly let go of his greasy thighs, allowing him back to his own feet as well as allowing himself to slip free from Will’s body. Hannibal looked bereft, but Will turned around to rest his palms against the cool rock face before casting a look over his shoulder. “Like this,” Will sighed, arching his back a bit to expose himself for Hannibal’s eyes.

A large hand cupped his hip before he felt his entrance being teased by a thick cock. It slipped past his entrance a few times, and Will whimpered. “I can’t see your face like this,” Hannibal said, and Will could practically hear the twist of his despondent mouth as he said it. 

“Later,” Will promised while thrusting back against Hannibal’s teasing. His cock caught Will’s rim briefly before it brushed past it again. “ _Hannibal_ , don’t fuck with me.”

The low rumble of laughter from his other half could have been cute if he weren’t so frustrated. His cock pulsed and his whole body felt like bottled lightning. “Impatient,” Hannibal sighed fondly.

A large hand gripped the flesh of his ass appreciatively before gliding up the expanse of his spine to grip Will’s shoulder. Finally, he pressed his cock to Will’s entrance and sunk back inside.

Will arched back as he buried himself inside, pressing his back to Hannibal’s chest. Hannibal’s hands immediately went around his torso, plucking at his nipples gently while he suckled at the skin of Will’s throat. He thrust gently inside of Will, who turned his face so they could bring their mouths together. It was more tongue and teeth than actual kissing, but neither of them minded that too much.

Their pace was languid, each gentle nudge of Hannibal’s hips was more of a grind than actual thrusting. Will felt full of him, each little movement dragging against his prostate exquisitely. Will dropped his head back against Hannibal’s shoulder, clenching his muscles around his cock in pulsing little waves.

He’d apparently had enough teasing, as his hand gripped Will’s shoulder and nudged him forward. Will braced one hand against the rough rock face, turning his body enough that he could watch Hannibal fuck him in earnest.

______________________________________________

Water sloshed around their thighs through Hannibal’s roughened pace, their wet skin slapping lewdly over the rushing sound of water. His beloved’s back was arched and turned enough that they could make eye contact, the startling clarity of his blue eyes matching the water perfectly.

Will’s skin had grown softly golden in their time here, and there were streaks of sunlight through the ends of his curls as well. Hannibal knew he was outdoorsy, so it didn’t surprise him in the least that Will was outside every moment that he could be. Hannibal had intended to hire a gardener for their property, but Will refused it, saying that he enjoyed working on their home.

Their home.

Hannibal gripped his slick hips in his palms, pressing himself deeper inside of his mate. The soft little whimper he got in response sent a thrill of pleasure through his gut. If it were even possible, Will had grown more beautiful, here. The lines of stress in his face were gone, the stiffness in his shoulders along with it. 

Hannibal thrust into him harder, his balls slapping against Will’s ass with each snap of his hips. “H-Hannibal,” Will pleaded, his head thrown back enough to expose the tempting column of his long throat.

“My mate,” Hannibal replied, gliding his hand up the strong line of his back. Hannibal took a moment to marvel that his palm spanned the width of the small of his back. He was delicate, but he was not fragile.

His body clenched around him, constricting his cock in tight, hot, slickness. Hannibal’s hips faltered for a moment, a flare of white-hot bliss rolling up from his cock through his abdomen. Will laughed breathlessly, tossing a teasing look over his shoulder that caused the same flare of arousal to pulse through him. Beautiful. He was _beautiful_.

Hannibal reached around his slender waist to grip his cock, stroking him with long, tight, strokes that matched the rhythm of his hips. Will bucked on him, a stuttered, shocked, little noise escaping his throat. Hannibal chuckled lowly, snapping his hips hard enough that Will’s curls bounced against his forehead, and that was all it took for his mate.

Will clenched up, his mouth falling open while his head fell back. His cock pulsed in Hannibal’s hand while his body constricted around him with each wave of his release. The guttural little cry from his mate sounded wrecked while Hannibal milked him dry with his fist.

The clenching walls around his cock pulled him over the edge as well, and Hannibal’s vision narrowed out. He pressed himself as deeply as he could while his cock jerked inside of Will’s body. He loved to do that. He loved that no matter how much Will showered, there was always a piece of himself left behind.

The sounds of their harsh breathing were lost to the sound of the waterfall, so Hannibal tugged his torso up, wrapping his arms around his sweaty shoulders. Will turned his face against Hannibal’s shoulder, and the wind took his curls directly to Hannibal’s nose. Sunshine. Mint. Home. That’s what he smelled like, now.

The sun was setting behind them, casting everything in a hazy orange-pink glow. It was getting late, and they had been here for a very long while. “We should get home to our dogs,” Will said, turning in Hannibal’s arms as he slipped free from his body. 

Hannibal grinned down at him, leaning forward to press a kiss to his flushed-pink mouth. “I was just thinking something similar,” he admitted. “I have nothing defrosted for dinner.”

Will chuckled while his arms came around Hannibal’s waist, holding him close. Hannibal’s heart stuttered in his chest every time Will did this, as affection did not come easily for his mate. Aside from making love, Will simply did not give out random kisses or hugs, so each time he did, it was treasured. He felt soft lips working against the base of his throat, and he held Will tighter to himself. “What else is new?” Will chuckled. “How about we go to dinner together?”

This was also new. They’d been here almost three months, and Will hadn’t asked to spend any time away from their home, yet. “Are you hungry currently? By the time we get dressed and head into the city it will be late.”

“I can wait,” Will assured him, pulling away enough to press a chaste kiss to Hannibal’s jawline. Hannibal let him go so they could both rinse clean a bit before getting out of the water. 

They each got dressed enough to walk the short distance back to their house. Will had been tending the path that led to their waterfall, and it was now no trouble at all to get here. Hannibal watched him the entirety of the walk back to the house, taking in the wide-eyed beauty of him while he was immersed in nature. Orange sunlight filtered through the trees, casting him in an other-worldly glow, and Will turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “You know, I’m aware of you when you’re… ogling.”

Hannibal felt a moment of surprised indignation, adjusting their beach bag over his shoulder. “I am not… _ogling_!” he retorted. “Appreciating, perhaps.”

Will’s eyes cast downward to the dirt path, navigating a tangle of roots that cut through the earth under their feet. “I don’t mind it, Han,” he said softly. He didn’t call Hannibal that often, but each time he did made his chest feel tight. “Are you aware of me when I’m ogling you?”

“On occasion,” Hannibal admitted with a little smile. “When I’m cooking, mostly. Sometimes when I’m doing something mundane, like sketching.”

Will smiled, tipping his face up to catch the warm breeze on his skin. His curls fluffed adorably in the wind; eyes closed as he enjoyed the sensation on his face. “You don’t look mundane when you’re doing things that you love,” he said softly while twisting his beach towel around his fists. “It feels like I’m seeing a side of you that others don’t get to see. The softness of your demeanor is like a sedative for me. You… you feel like home, sometimes.”

Few things in this world could move Hannibal so deeply. The last time he felt this kind of devotion to another human being was when his sister was alive, although a decidedly different form of it. Hannibal’s throat stuck uncomfortably with welled-up emotion, and he honestly didn’t know what to do with it. His beloved mate always understood him without words, though.

Will glanced at him, his half-smile warm and sweet. His beloved inched closer while they walked up the path that led to their house, lacing their fingers together gently. 

Their army of dogs greeted them at the door, each far too worked up for the short time they’d been left alone. Will used to leave them for ten hours or more a day when he worked in Quantico, but they’d gotten used to people being home with them, now. 

Hannibal eyed Max, who looked extraordinarily guilty in the way he hung back by the entrance of the kitchen. “What did you do, Max?” Hannibal asked the wary dog. Max whined, ducking his head and dropping to the floor.

No good could come of a reaction like that. “Did you leave your Italian loafers out again?” Will asked with a teasing laugh. 

Hannibal knew it couldn’t be that. He rarely bothered to wear loafers at all anymore, as they hardly left the house for anything aside groceries. “No,” Hannibal sighed. His eyes drifted to the living room, and he found the damage.

The leg of the ottoman, solid mahogany and carved in Italy, was chewed beyond recognition. Hannibal felt a pang of misery while he looked at his antique, grimacing at the dog drool that had soaked into his carpet. “Max, have I wronged you in some way?”

Max pressed himself further to the rug, his eyes wide and miserable as they looked up at Hannibal in apology. None of Will’s other dogs did things like this. “So much for the lemon oil to prevent chewing,” Will shrugged. “I’m sorry, darlin’.”

Hannibal sighed, shaking his head. He had everything he wanted, and he needed to remember that. Furniture could be replaced. Will, who loved his dogs, could not. “It’s alright,” he said eventually. “It’s only… furniture.”

Will pressed a kiss to his cheek, and Hannibal felt marginally better. “Shower with me?” he said softly, his body pressed tight to Hannibal’s chest while his hot breath ticked his ear. 

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

They took a shower together, and Hannibal delighted in the responsibility of cleaning Will thoroughly of the tanning oil he used. His soapy fingers delved deep inside of Will’s body, and Will hissed. “Hannibal, I’m not twenty anymore,” he gritted out while Hannibal stroked against the swollen nub inside of him. 

Will’s cock was already hard again, and Hannibal grinned. “You seem to be doing just fine,” Hannibal replied silkily. “Although we should stop, if we intend to go to dinner tonight.”

Will whimpered as Hannibal withdrew his fingers, rinsing them clean enough to press back inside a few times to clear out soap residue. Each movement of his fingers caused Will to make a fussy sound, somewhere between needy and annoyed. Will turned his eyes upwards, glaring at Hannibal. “Don’t tease. If you’re doing it, do it. Don’t tease me.”

“And what if I told you that I wasn’t intending to tease?” Hannibal asked while crowding Will against the shower wall. Will pressed a wet kiss to the base of his throat while gripping Hannibal’s hips closer. Hannibal adjusted his fingers inside of Will’s body, stroking against that spot purposefully.

Will’s head dropped back to the tile wall, his mouth parted in pleasure. “I would say that we are insatiable,” he sighed, “and that all the sex we’re having is just putting off the inevitable.”

Hannibal pulled away at that, frowning down at Will while withdrawing his fingers. “What do you mean by that?”

Will reached out to shut the water off, tugging the towel from the hook. He stepped out, drying himself off, and pointedly didn’t make eye contact with Hannibal for the entirety of it. Hannibal grabbed the other towel, drying himself a bit before he wrapped it around his waist. 

The meaning that Hannibal took from Will’s words was that Will believed they were doomed from the start. His stomach rolled at the thought, and he moved to vacate the bathroom so as to avoid any emotional display he may give Will unknowingly.

Gentle hands gripped his wrist as he moved past, and he stilled. Will looked contrite, lifting his eyes up to look into Hannibal’s own. “How I said that… it’s not how I meant it. Not at all,” he sighed.

“And how did you mean it?” Hannibal asked.

“We have… shit to discuss, Hannibal. Have you killed anyone since we’ve been here?” Will wondered.

Of all the things he thought Will would ask, it wasn’t that. “No,” he admitted, dropping his eyes to the soft, golden, expanse of Will’s chest. “I haven’t.”

“But you want to?” Will prodded further, and Hannibal swallowed thickly.

“When the mood strikes me, I plan to, yes,” Hannibal admitted softly. “Are you saying you were under the misapprehension that I would not?”

Will shook his head, leaning back against the bathroom counter while crossing his arms. “I knew you would,” he replied. He bit his lip, scratching absently at his jawline. “I… I don’t know how I feel about it? There’s a part of me that rebels against it, as I know it’s… wrong. Horrible. My nightmares used to conjure you as a wendigo; a heartless, cannibalizing, monster. It’s difficult for me to reconcile the man I know and the man I imagine you to be. We’ve created a bubble here, Hannibal. It’s… sweet and amorous, but I also know it’s temporary. There will be bloodshed, won’t there?”

Hannibal shifted awkwardly, taking another towel to dry the ends of his dripping hair. “I don’t need to do a thing in front of you, Will. There was a point where I imagined you’d join me, but if you would prefer it, you’ll never know a thing.”

“I want to join you,” Will blurted out. Hannibal paused in drying his hair, taking in the hot blush that stained Will’s cheeks slowly. “I want to, but… I have limits.”

“You want to negotiate a murder agreement?” Hannibal asked, fighting a grin from his face. His beloved was extraordinary.

Will nodded, straightening his spine with resolve. “No kids,” he said sternly. 

“I’ve _never_ killed a child!” Hannibal spat in revulsion.

“I know,” Will agreed, clearing his throat. “Still, no kids. That includes teenagers, Hannibal.”

Hannibal nodded curtly while taking a calming breath. “No kids, no teenagers. What else, Will?”

“No displays,” Will said softly, glancing up at Hannibal carefully.

“Will, I-”

“No displays,” Will interjected. “Jack is going to be looking for anything that even remotely looks like the Ripper. If he finds similar victims here, he will come here, Hannibal. I imagine it won’t go well when he realizes that you’re here, too. I won’t know he’s coming this time. I won’t be able to tell you when to get rid of evidence. I… I love you, and I want to protect this between us. So no displays.”

His displays were a major part of who he was. He enjoyed creating them and sharing them with the world. The kill itself took mere moments, but the display took months, sometimes. Hannibal glanced up, taking in his beloved mate’s stoic expression. Will’s argument was that it exposed them, and he wasn’t wrong. He couldn’t lose this.

He could not lose Will. Not because he wanted to create artwork. Will was more important than everything else. “No displays,” he agreed eventually.

Will’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? You’re… you’re serious?”

Hannibal nodded, “I can’t lose you. I will not put us in jeopardy for any reason. Will you ask me not to…” his voice drifted off, as he’d never, in his life, admitted what he did out loud. “Will you ask me not to make meals for us with them?”

Will wiggled uncomfortably against the cabinet, his eyebrows drawn tight. “No,” he sighed. “No, I’m not asking you to stop doing that. Make whatever you want with… with whoever you want. I would like to ask that for the first few… I’d like some say over them. I need to ease into it, and I’m not going to want to murder someone for forgetting a lemon in my iced water. I need something more than that, and… I think you know it.”

“I have no issue with you choosing the first few,” Hannibal agreed easily. “I have never killed anyone for forgetting a lemon, Will.”

Will chuckled, stepping into Hannibal’s side a bit so their skin touched. It astounded Hannibal that such a small gesture could warm him like this, but it did. “There is something else,” he said carefully while fidgeting with the towel around his waist. 

“What’s that?” Hannibal wondered, leaning forward to scent the sweet mint from his curls. 

“Leave Abigail out of it,” he blurted out. “When she comes for summer break next month, we can’t kill anyone. So while she’s here, no killing, no people meat, nothing. I want her to have a life, Hannibal. If she comes to us later on because she feels those… urges, that’s one thing. I won’t condition her to love it, though. Promise me.”

“I promise you,” Hannibal agreed. “Abigail will spend her month with us, and she will leave thinking we are two of the most boring people on this earth. I swear it, Will.”

Will grinned, folding his arms around Hannibal’s waist to tug him closer. “We’re going to have to… keep sex in the bedroom, too.”

“Perhaps we should put her in a hotel?” Hannibal wondered, earning a sharp peel of laughter from his mate. 

“She’s staying with us,” Will said through a laugh. “One month without pool sex and kitchen sex won’t kill us.”

“Shower sex?” Hannibal wondered, tucking his fingers in Will’s damp curls.

“If we’re… quiet about it, I guess that’s fine,” Will laughed.

“When her boyfriend comes for the week, are we letting them stay in the same room?” Hannibal asked.

“She’s an adult,” Will sighed. “I think we should let them do what they want, right?”

“I suppose,” Hannibal agreed, albeit very reluctantly. “I don’t think we have time to drive into the city for dinner, now.”

“I’m sorry,” Will chuckled. “I’ve been… sitting on all of this for a while, now.”

Hannibal sighed, tugging Will’s body closer to his own. His skin was impossibly soft, and Hannibal pressed a kiss to the long column of his throat. “I don’t know why. You can come to me with anything, Will.”

“I thought you knew,” Will admitted sheepishly. “I thought you had an idea about what I wanted to ask of you, and that you were distracting me with sex to prevent the inevitable discussion.”

Hannibal stilled, glancing down at Will in surprise. “I think in this case you’ve given me too much credit,” he laughed. “I didn’t realize you had so much on your mind. I assure you, I have not been trying to distract you from anything, Will. I’ve merely been appreciating you.”

“Appreciating,” Will laughed while his fingertips trailed up Hannibal’s spine.

“Endlessly appreciating,” Hannibal chuckled. “Come downstairs with me and help me find something to make for dinner.”

__________________________________________________

They each got dressed in pajama pants only before heading downstairs to rummage through the kitchen cabinets. They settled on eggs with pancetta with thick slices of brioche toast slathered in butter. Will cut up fresh fruits, as they had piles of them, making a little fruit salad to go along with the savory plate.

All pretenses had been gone for a while, their dining table not used once since they arrived in Spain. They chose instead to sit at the kitchen island where Will could steal from Hannibal’s plate, and Hannibal could sneak little bites of food into Will’s mouth now and again.

This time was no different. Will sat angled towards Hannibal’s counter stool, his feet propped on Hannibal’s foot rung. Hannibal dug out all the fresh pineapple from his portion, feeding it to Will who took it with a smirk. He adored fresh pineapple, so it had become a staple in their house.

“I’ve got to take them out for a w-a-l-k after dinner,” Will said, spelling the word out so their dogs wouldn’t start flipping out in the middle of their dinner. “You want to join me?”

“Of course,” Hannibal agreed with a bright grin, glancing over his shoulder at the line of begging dogs around them. “They never begged in your home in Wolf Trap.”

Will rolled his eyes. “That’s because you keep feeding them at the table. The more you do it, the more they think it’s okay. Do you know how long it took to train them not to beg? Poof. All that training, gone in three months.”

“You’re blaming me for this?” Hannibal asked in indignation. “I only feed them… occasionally.”

“Once a day is routine,” Will said, slathering his brioche toast in strawberry jam. 

“It’s… it’s not every day,” he replied, although he looked mightily unsure about that statement. 

“Do you regret telling me I could keep them?” Will asked carefully, turning to Hannibal with a raised eyebrow. 

Hannibal shook his head, then shrugged. “Sometimes? They aren’t… terrible. I’ve never had an indoor pet, so suddenly having seven of them is overwhelming. That being said, they are usually well-behaved, and it rarely feels like there’s seven of them because of that.”

Will considered that, thinking about how much time he spent cleaning up after them so that Hannibal wouldn’t have a stroke about all the dog fur. He decided not to point it out. “So…” he said, and he could feel the heat of a blush working up his face. The feeling intensified when he felt Hannibal’s fingers trace the warmth with his fingers. “This is officially my longest relationship.”

Hannibal blinked at him. “Three months?”

Will nodded, averting his eyes towards the counter. “Usually by this point, everyone I’ve ever dated has realized that I’m… not really dating material. Do I… does anything I do frustrate you?”

Hannibal looked shocked by the question. His mouth fell open while his eyes searched Will’s face. “No, Will,” he said softly. 

“Now’s the time to say something,” Will encouraged him, clearing his throat a bit. “I can corrective action whatever is… obnoxious.”

Hannibal’s eyebrows drew together briefly before he gave Will a little smile. “You could worry less,” he said, a note of teasing in his voice. “You worry too much, Will.”

Will’s hackles were rising, and he grit his teeth to keep from snapping at him. “This isn’t a joke.”

“Agreed,” Hannibal said glibly. “The other people you were in relationships with were complete imbeciles if they could not see what a treasure you are. You’re clean, neat, and organized. You’re quiet, introverted, and brilliantly intelligent. You know me well enough that I rarely have to ask you for anything, and you’re affectionate and sweet with me. You take care of our home and our yard, negating any outside help I considered hiring. Living with you, Will, has been a blessing.”

Will stared at him for a few minutes, searching out any hint that something wasn’t the truth, but not finding any hint of a lie in anything he said. “You’re serious.”

“Indeed,” Hannibal chuckled. “Maybe there are two things. Worry less, and allow me to replace that horrible aftershave you still use with something better. I’ll have no complaints after that.”

“It doesn’t bother you that I don’t separate the whites from the colors when I do laundry?” Will asked hesitantly.

Hannibal’s lip twitched. “Three things, then.”

“What about when I put something back in the fridge, but not where you had it originally? Remember you were looking for-”

“Will,” Hannibal laughed, cutting Will off while lacing his fingers through Will’s curls. “We all have little things. That’s living together. I’m sure there are some things that I do that drive you mad.”

Will tipped his face into Hannibal’s palm, smiling softly. “Not really,” he said, opening his eyes again to find amber ones boring into his face. “You’re louder than I thought you’d be. Even when you’re doing something quiet, like sketching, you’ve got music going. I think…” he stalled out, biting his lip. He really didn’t want to offend Hannibal.

“You think?” he prodded; his eyes lit with amusement.

“The theremin,” Will blurted. “The theremin is annoying.”

Hannibal let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head in amusement. “Of all my idiosyncrasies, it’s the theremin that upsets you.”

“It doesn’t _upset_ me,” Will argued, a small smile cracking his mouth. “It’s annoying. It sounds like a dying whale.”

The laugh he got in response was vibrant, and Hannibal’s amusement was infectious enough that Will found himself laughing, too. Hannibal leaned forward abruptly and pressed his lips to Will’s own, the kiss chaste and affectionate. “Oh, my darling little mate. We’ll be just fine.”

 _Darling little mate_? Will’s spine stiffened while he narrowed his eyes. “What did you just call me?”

“Darling?” Hannibal ventured carefully, glancing away to pick up his wine glass. 

“The rest of it,” Will pressed, pursing his lips.

“Mate,” Hannibal supplied unhelpfully.

“Darling _little_ mate,” Will spat. “I am like… two inches shorter than you.”

“I don’t mean it offensively,” Hannibal assured him, raising a placating hand. “You’re delicate, is all I mean by it.”

“ _Delicate_?” Will almost shrieked. Hannibal was very, very, close to getting a beatdown by his _tiny little mate_ , and he had no idea. 

Hannibal sighed while reaching out to grip Will’s wrist. He pressed their palms together, demonstrating that… okay, yeah. Hannibal’s hand was slightly bigger than his own. Slightly wider. Slightly… but _only_ slightly.

“I am not… _small_!” Will argued anyway.

Hannibal swiped a hand across his face, groaning low in his throat. “I meant no offense.”

“That’s how you view me?” Will asked. “A small and delicate little thing? Your fragile little mate? Jesus Christ, Hannibal.”

“That is not how I view you,” he sighed. “It… sometimes… on occasion, I see you, and… but I know that you’re not.”

“Eloquent,” Will replied sarcastically. 

“Indeed,” Hannibal said, wetting his lips. He stood up abruptly, moving so close to Will that he barricaded him against the counter. One arm came around his waist, and he spanned his hand at the small of Will’s back. “Feel my hand?” he asked. “It spans the width of your back. While you’re not tiny, you have delicate features. I am by no means saying that you’re weak or fragile. I know you’re anything but.”

“How would it make you feel to know that in my head, I thought of you as my teeny little sweet puff? You’d be mad.”

Hannibal chuckled, “I wouldn’t understand why you thought that, as I am much broader than you are.”

“You’re an ass,” Will bemoaned with a laugh. 

Hannibal’s hand against his back tugged him closer and Will leaned into him, rather begrudgingly. “I’ve come to know that you are an enigma. The night you came to my home to tell me about the kiss between yourself and Alana, you looked… so very fragile. Your face, so sweetly innocent and trusting. It’s true that I think of you as something small and precious, but you’ve taught me better. You’re an aggressively ruthless thing when you want something.”

Will rolled his eyes affectionately, pressing a kiss to Hannibal’s sternum. “It’s just weird that you think of me like that. Your little mate? God, Hannibal. You are…”

“Smitten?” Hannibal supplied, and Will laughed. “In love? Enamored?” he continued, drawing another exasperated laugh from Will. He reached out with his tiny little hands and snatched Hannibal by the jaw, dragging him down for a kiss that was anything but sweet or innocent. 

His teeth captured that plump upper lip briefly before he licked in, savoring the taste of sweet wine on Hannibal’s tongue before pulling away. “I was going to say ridiculous, but sure.”

“I don’t know how else to think of you,” Hannibal said softly, brushing his lips against Will’s jawline. “You’re more than my… boyfriend,” he said distastefully, and even Will shuddered at that.

“Obviously,” Will agreed, tilting his head a bit to make more room for Hannibal’s lips. 

“You’re more than my partner. A partnership implies that you’re someone separate from me. You’re not.”

Will shivered at the possessiveness in Hannibal’s voice, finding no real fault in it. “Two halves of a whole,” Will agreed.

“You’re more than my paramour,” Hannibal continued, suckling gently against the skin under his ear. “More than a simple lover.”

“So _mate_ is the best you could come up with?” Will wondered, turning his face to capture Hannibal’s lips briefly.

Their lips dragged with soft kisses while Hannibal nodded. “Mate implies that you’re my other half,” he reasoned.

“In Europe it implies that I’m your friend,” Will pointed out, chuckling as he felt a growl vibrate from Hannibal’s chest.

“I don’t know what else I could call you, then,” Hannibal sighed. Long fingers worked themselves through Will’s hair, and he felt Hannibal take a deep inhale against his curls. 

“Husband has a good ring to it,” Will said softly, pulling away to look up into Hannibal’s eyes. 

Hannibal went still. So still that Will wondered if he was even breathing. He stared at Will’s face, shifting his eyes over every inch of it to the point where Will wondered if he had something stuck to it. “Husband,” he repeated breathlessly.

Will nodded while reaching up to stroke his fingers against the sharp edge of a cheekbone, smiling softly at the wonder on Hannibal’s face. “You should marry me,” Will said with a grin. “Besides the fact that it would stop you from calling me your little mate, I like the idea of you having a ring on your finger when I’m not with you.”

“Why am I not surprised that you’d propose this way,” Hannibal chuckled while twisting Will’s curls through his fingers. “Not with a question, but with a demand.”

Will blinked at him, pressing his lips together. “Marry me, Hannibal.”

“Ask me, then,” Hannibal teased, leaning forward to press a kiss to his temple. 

“Will you please just agree that we’re getting married?” Will asked, earning himself a sharp laugh against his hairline. 

“Yes Will,” he agreed. Finally. The damned jerk. “Yes, I agree that we should get married. I can’t believe I’m marrying someone that doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body.”

Will frowned at him, gripping his hips in his palms. “I sucked your cock by a waterfall today,” he argued. “That’s very fucking romantic.”

“And yet when you point it out, it loses all sense of romance,” Hannibal chuckled. 

“You want me to light somewhere around thirty candles in the bedroom?” Will asked, earning another throaty rumble of laughter from his… fiancé? Jesus. “I picture you on satiny gold sheets, for the record. I think it would make you look even more golden and beautiful than you already are.”

Hannibal tilted his jaw up, stroking the skin beneath it with his fingertips. “You can be romantic, it seems.”

“Good,” Will grinned, closing his eyes as Hannibal leaned in to kiss him again. “I don’t have the patience to light that many candles.”

“It was a poor decision on my part,” Hannibal confessed, dragging his lips against the corner of Will’s mouth. “I picked dried wax drippings off of the woodwork for hours.”

Will hummed, slanting their mouths together again and sliding forward on the island stool enough to bring his hips in contact with Hannibal’s thigh. “I’d like to make love to my fiancé, if he’s interested.”

Hannibal shivered in his arms, his eyes smoldering like amber coals. “I don’t have golden sheets,” he teased.

“I promise that neither of us will give a damn what color the sheets are,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to Hannibal’s chest. 

Long fingers wove through his hair, tipping his face up for a kiss that curled his toes against the rung of the counter stool. Hannibal’s tongue plundered his mouth, tasting him and savoring him in equal measure. Their mouths barely broke apart as they stumbled back towards the bedroom, dinner plates left where they were, for now.

Their bedroom in Spain faced out to the backyard where large French doors led out to the pool patio. Will loved the effect it had on their bedroom. The pool lights cast the room in a pretty, turquoise glow that seemed to perfectly complement the blanket of endless night sky over them. One of his favorite things about his home in Wolf Trap was how dark it was there without all the light pollution of the city, and he still had that in Spain.

Hannibal had abandoned his mouth to suckle soft kisses against the side of his neck, his fingers trailing gently against his bare spine. Will slid his thumbs into the loose band of Hannibal’s pajama pants, sliding them down and over the swell of his firm ass. 

It didn’t take much more work than that; they slid the rest of the way off, pooling at Hannibal’s feet. He could feel Hannibal’s cock nudging his hip, and he smiled while lacing his fingers through the silken hair at the nape of his neck. 

Hannibal caught his mouth in another kiss while his hands untied his pajama pants, sliding them off his hips just as easily as Will had removed his own. He was an incredible kisser. His tongue somehow straddled the line of gentle and demanding while his lips were silken and soft as they caressed Will’s own.

With Will’s empathy disorder, the atmosphere of the room was electric. It always was. Hannibal’s attention to him was reverential and intense. Every soft caress of his fingertips, every sigh, every slide of his lips over Will’s skin. Will wanted to make him feel good. As good as Hannibal always made him feel.

Will pressed his palms to Hannibal’s chest, nudging him backwards so he fell back against the cool sheets. Will wasted no time, climbing between his spread thighs and sinking against him, aligning their bodies so as much skin touched as possible. Hannibal shivered under him as Will suckled gently at the skin of his throat, sliding his mouth downwards to tug at his nipple with teeth and tongue. 

The light from the pool cast the room in aurora green patterns of light that rippled with the water, and Hannibal looked other-worldly in the soft glow. Will groaned while looking up at the sharp features of his face, the dampness of his parted mouth. He let his fiancé’s nipple go, leaning back over him to rock their erections together leisurely while gliding his fingers over the sharp line of his cheekbones. 

“Your eyes in this light,” Hannibal sighed. “You’re a beauty.”

One hand worked itself into Will’s curls while the other stroked his cheek, and Will kissed him, soft and slow. He took Hannibal’s plump upper lip between his teeth, flicking his tongue against the soft flesh before letting it go. “I was just thinking the same thing about you,” he admitted softly while trailing his fingers down Hannibal’s ribcage. “So damned beautiful I’m going to marry you for it.”

Hannibal laughed, warm and bright, all sharp teeth and crinkled eyes. “Is that the only reason?”

“You’re a pretty good cook, too,” Will teased with a laugh while rocking his hips against Hannibal. He felt Hannibal’s cock twitch against his own, and all he wanted in that moment was to be inside of him already. 

Hannibal chuckled, twisting a curl around his finger. “I love you,” he said softly, causing Will’s heart to stutter in his chest.

“I thought you said those three little words were garbage,” Will said between kisses to Hannibal’s jawline. 

“They are,” he agreed. “But not between you and I.”

“Hypocritical, Doctor Lecter,” Will jabbed, soothing the sting of it with another kiss that Hannibal smiled against. “ _Aishiteru_ ,” Will said, hoping to God he was saying it correctly.

He must have, because Hannibal went still under him, sliding his fingers from Will’s curls to cup his cheek. “Will,” he whispered. His throat bobbed with a rough swallow, and Will was certain there was a glaze on his eyes that wasn’t there before.

Will leaned over him, pressing kisses to his eyelids, then the soft skin above his cheekbones. His lips tasted of salt, and Will peppered kisses back to his mouth. Hannibal’s legs hitched up Will’s thighs as they kissed, the endless expanse of them wrapping around Will’s waist to tug him closer. 

He reached for the little jar of lube on the nightstand, kneeling between Hannibal’s spread thighs. He scooped a little blob of it out, rubbing it between his fingers to heat it for a moment. Reaching between their bodies, he rubbed the muscle of Hannibal’s entrance, allowing two fingers to slip in with very little resistance. 

Neither of them needed much prep work anymore. Three months’ worth of daily sexual encounters made it much easier. Hannibal was still tight, but it never took very long to stretch him open enough to accept Will inside of him. 

Will watched his fingers disappear inside of Hannibal’s body, sliding them up the wanton length of his muscled chest. Hannibal was watching him, and Will blushed when he noticed the tiny little smirk on his face. “You always look amazed,” Hannibal sighed while sliding his legs up Will’s sides. “As though you can’t believe it.”

“I sometimes don’t,” Will replied, glancing up at his eyes for a second before trailing them away. He pressed another finger in, teasing him a bit by pressing ever-so-gently against that little swollen nub inside. “I never imagined you’d make me this happy,” he continued, and Hannibal arched his back in an attempt to get Will to press more firmly. He did not. “Not after all we’ve done to one another. But you do.”

Will withdrew his fingers, adjusting himself on his knees a bit. He slicked his cock, and both of them sighed as he pressed in. _This_. This somehow only got better each time they did it, and Will wondered idly if the immense pleasure would somehow kill him in the end. 

Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s waist, lifting his hips up from the bed as he sunk inside. Hannibal’s torso arched beautifully; his head tipped back in pleasure as Will bottomed out inside of him. “Will,” he breathed in shock. “So deep, beloved. Oh, please. Move. _Move_.”

There was some concern in him that if he started moving, he’d come. The tight wet heat constricting around his cock felt incredible, and Will held onto the small of his back while thrusting inside of him gently. This position intensified the pressure on Hannibal’s prostate, deeply and consistently dragging against it. He knew it because Hannibal had done this to him a few times, and it never seemed to last long for Will no matter how much he tried to hang on.

Hannibal’s legs came up, resting against Will’s shoulders to spread himself more open, making it much easier for Will to slide in and out of him. He tipped his face, pressing a kiss to Hannibal’s calf where it rested against his shoulder. A soft little moan escaped Hannibal’s mouth as Will snapped his hips a little harder. “You were made for me, Hannibal,” Will sighed. 

“Yes,” he agreed breathlessly while reaching for his cock to stroke himself in time with Will’s deep thrusts. “My beloved. My mate,” he gasped, clenching himself around Will’s cock to the point of almost pain. 

Will moaned low and loud, snapping his hips more urgently, and Hannibal whimpered. “Your _fiancé_ , Hannibal.”

That was apparently all it took. Hannibal’s hips lifted higher while his cock jerked in his fist. His body convulsed through his orgasm, squeezing around Will deliciously. Will continued fucking into him, and each thrust caused Hannibal to flinch. “Will,” he gasped. “ _Wait_. Please, wait.”

Will stilled his hips, pressing deeply while sucking in much needed air. His cock was pulsing inside of Hannibal, demanding the release that was so, so, close. “I need… Hannibal, I need-”

“I know,” he breathed, swiping sweat off his brow. “It’s too much. I can’t. Come up here. I’ll take care of you.”

Will pulled himself free from Hannibal’s body with a whimper, jerking his cock while letting Hannibal’s legs slide to his sides. Hannibal tugged him up the bed while wiggling down it at the same time. Will couldn’t wait to get his cock inside that mouth, but Hannibal had other plans.

He could have cried when Hannibal avoided his cock, slinking himself further under Will’s body. The first swipe of Hannibal’s tongue against his entrance felt like a shock, and Will flinched from it, trying to decide if he wanted to fuck Hannibal’s face or crawl away.

He decided on the former. The wet, smacking, noises of Hannibal’s attentions were loud in the room, each suckle against his entrance shooting heat and pleasure up his gut. Will rocked on his face, adjusting himself on his knees so he could decide how much he wanted. 

Hannibal hummed against him while Will jerked his cock, Hannibal’s hands gripping the flesh of his ass appreciatively while spreading him open. He was breached by a pointed tongue, fucked by it so perfectly that Will felt like raw electricity was coursing through his veins. His skin felt too tight, sweat dripping down the small of his back while he rode Hannibal’s face with abandon. “ _Fuck_ ,” he gasped. “Oh God, Hannibal.”

His fiancé latched onto his entrance, and Will felt the barest scrape of teeth against his rim. His hips bucked wildly, and he jerked his cock hard while coming against the mattress. The sound that was punched out of him as he came was almost embarrassing, as Hannibal didn’t relent with his torturous tongue even after he’d finished.

Will tried to lift himself off, but strong arms bracketed his thighs, holding him in place while Hannibal ate him out. “P-please,” Will begged, wiggling uncomfortably with unbelievable overstimulation. “I c-can’t.”

Hannibal pressed one last kiss to him, deep and wet, before releasing his thighs to allow Will to crawl off of him. Will’s legs were shaking, so all he could manage to do was tip over and roll onto his side. 

He closed his eyes while regaining his breath, only cracking one open when he felt Hannibal wiggle back up the bed to smirk down at him while wiping his chin. “I wish I could have seen you come,” he said lowly, the faintest, proud, little smirk on his face.

“That…” Will grinned, leaning forward to capture that perfect mouth in a kiss. Hannibal tasted musky and salty, and Will pulled away to lick his lips. “Perfect. This fucking mouth,” he said while squeezing Hannibal’s cheeks together. “God, this mouth,” he finished incoherently.

“Eloquent as always,” Hannibal teased, grimacing a bit when his shoulder came in contact with the wet spot from Will’s spend.

“You know,” Will said conversationally while swiping the sweat from his chest. “I wanted to pleasure you. I wanted tonight to be about you.”

“It was,” Hannibal assured him, easing his fingers back into Will’s sweaty curls. “Nothing pleases me more than bringing you pleasure.”

What was crazy about that admission was that it was completely true. Will relaxed against the mattress, grimacing when he realized he was laying in a puddle of his own sweat. “We’ve got to shower. Again.”

“And change the sheets,” Hannibal agreed, wiggling a bit to get away from the sweat and come all over them. 

“I should have waited to ask you,” Will blurted, turning his face to take in Hannibal’s confused expression. “I should have wined and dined you with flowers and something chocolaty for dessert. There should have been a ring, maybe given to you in a glass of champagne or tied to Buster’s collar. Sorry I’m… like this.”

Hannibal sighed, shaking his head with a little smile on his face. “If you would have done all that, I wouldn’t have trusted that you truly wanted to marry me. I prefer you as you are, honest and sometimes blunt to the point of concern. I prefer you, Will.”

“There should have at least been a ring,” Will grimaced. He dragged Hannibal down for another kiss, this one much softer and sweeter than the ones before it. “I really do love you.”

“I know,” Hannibal said, pulling away to tug his lip between his teeth. “I already got us rings, Will.”

Will sat up, staring down at Hannibal in disbelief. “You did not.”

“I did,” Hannibal smirked. He rolled from the bed, gloriously naked and gorgeous. He padded to the dresser and took out a small black box. 

He clicked on a lamp by the bed, settling back onto the mattress while handing the box off to Will’s extended hand. Will took it hesitantly, glancing up at Hannibal in surprise. “How long have you had this?”

“A few weeks,” Hannibal admitted with a shrug. “I was waiting for the right time… and also warring with myself over whether or not you’d ever want such a thing.”

Will snapped the box open, staring down at two beautiful wedding bands made of spotless platinum. Will took one from the box carefully, noting that there was an inscription inside the band. “The beginning of always,” Will smiled while smoothing his thumb across the inscription. “Dante?”

Hannibal nodded. “Remember tonight… for it is the beginning of always,” he said, completing the quote with a little smile. “I’ll have the date of our wedding inscribed once we decide on one.”

Will swallowed thickly, placing the perfect ring back in the box beside the other, slightly larger one. “Thank God one of us is romantic,” he said, his voice strange and tight with tears in his throat. “They’re perfect.”

Hannibal kissed him again, letting his lips linger against Will’s own for a beat before pulling away. “To think, this all started with me suggesting intimacy to relax you.”

Will snorted, handing the box back to Hannibal while staring up at his flawless face. “This all started the moment you walked into Jack’s office,” Will admitted. “You pissed me off like no one else had managed to do in a long time. Within minutes of meeting me, by the way. You were persistent and obnoxious, and I had never been more grateful that someone wanted me in their life so much that they didn’t allow my… surliness to dissuade them. You persisted, long after most people would have abandoned me.”

Hannibal slid his hand down Will’s thigh, squeezing it softly. “Every time you gifted me with your trust or affection, it felt like a miracle. It still does, Will. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you. If you wanted to fight my love for you for years, I would have still loved you enough for both of us.”

Will relaxed against the pillows, staring up at Hannibal’s face. “It’s sometimes easier for me to fight, rather than to believe that someone loves me. I still struggle sometimes, if I’m being honest. Affection doesn’t come easy for me, and neither does intimacy. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better, though.”

“You have,” Hannibal assured him, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. “I never want you to worry too much about that. I told you already that I prefer you as you are, and I wasn’t merely saying that in jest. If you feel like being affectionate, do so. That’s all I want with you, Will. I take what I want from you, and I want you to do the same with me. You really do worry too much.”

Will laughed, sitting up in the bed to lace his fingers behind Hannibal’s neck and tug him down for a chaste kiss. “What could you do to relax me, Doctor Lecter?”

Hannibal chuckled, peppering Will’s face with tiny kisses. “You’re insatiable,” he sighed. “A hot shower first. I think we could come up with something while we’re in there.”

“It might be hard for me,” Will teased, earning another little throaty chuckle for it. 

“I’m hoping it is,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO darlings! Sorry this took so long to get to you! This story... I honestly never meant for it to grow into this massive thing, but it did. 
> 
> You guys have been SO KIND and so responsive, and I appreciate every single one of you. I've got a few more stories that I'm working on for these two, so it won't be long before you see me again. <33333


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